Out of My League
by Krissiekins02
Summary: Life doesn't always go the way one plans, one day you're sailing along in a perfect calm and then WHAM, you slam into a brick wall. LL :
1. Phone Tag

**Author's Note**: Hey folks :) This is my first multi part story that I've actually felt like putting on here and intend on finishing...so be honest and all that good stuff.

The facts: It takes place somewhere in season 6. Probably end of season 5/beginning of season 6. Luke and Lorelai have been together a year or so, Rory's entering her Junior year of Yale, and everyone else is pretty much the same. Oh, Sookie hasn't had her baby yet, I'll try to incorporate that into the story at some point.

R/R please, and I apologize that the first chapter is so short!

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**Phone Tag**

She never wanted anything more in her life than she wanted this right now. She paced back and forth, occasionally forgetting to breathe, waiting. It was all a waiting game now, and no matter what happened she couldn't change it. Maybe it would help things, but then again it could drive the wedge between the two of them in even further.

That was the absolute last thing she wanted.

She checked her watch for probably the eightieth time in the past two minutes, and watched painstakingly as the second hand slowly ticked by. It always seems that in times where you want the time to go faster, it always seems to drag on slower and slower until it seems like it's at a standstill.

The only sound she heard in the entire house was the pounding of her heart, the ticking of the second had, and the slight shuffle her bare feet made on the floor boards. She'd been tempted to turn on music to calm her down a little bit, but after knocking over the entire CD tower because she was shaking so bad, she'd given up on that ploy.

She checked her watch for the eighty-first time and let out a breath. It was finally time. She hesitantly crossed the room and looked at the nondescript thing lying on her dresser. She muffled a sob, and picked it up and held it in her hand as she crossed to the bed to sit down before she fell down.

It was pink. The god-damn stick was pink. She'd had a feeling it would be, but she convinced herself that maybe there was a chance in hell it wouldn't be. All she wanted to do right now was throw the stick across the room and then drink herself into oblivion, but she knew the latter wasn't an option. She sat it on her bed and stared at it, trying to will it to turn blue, but no such luck.

How was she going to tell him? She had hardly spoken to him in a week and a half, and he'd made no effort to talk to her either. She didn't quite understand, but now she had no choice but to tell him.

She rationalized for a second. She did have a choice, but she couldn't just not tell him. It wouldn't be fair for her to deprive him of knowing, and at least giving him the chance to decide.

_Shit._ She thought. _What if he runs…I mean I could handle it. It'd be different this time, but I don't think he'd run. He's not like that…at least I don't think he is…shit._

She went downstairs and picked up the phone. Dialing his number her fingers went on autopilot. She'd dialed the number so many times, it was like second nature to her. She let it ring, and was tempted to hang up when she heard his voice. She held on for a second longer, and realized it was just his voicemail. She listened and waited for the beep and left a hurried message.

"_Hey…it's me. Um, I know we aren't on the best terms…hell I don't even know if I should be calling us a "we" anymore. But, I need to talk to you, soon. I guess you're screening your calls or something because you should be home by now…but yeah. Um, call me back. It's kind of important…but if you don't want to I understand. I could tell you on here…but this kind of needs to be face to face. Call me back and let me know when you get this. I lov…bye."_

He stared at the answering machine as her voice filtered through it. He was worried, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't. Her normally confident voice had a crack to it, and she wasn't being blunt, which was stranger than everything.

He turned the TV back on to the ballgame that had been playing when she called, only now it wasn't holding his attention. Before he'd used it as a way to drive her out of his head after seeing a glimpse of her that afternoon, now it was just noise in the background as he fretted over what was so important she couldn't tell him on the phone.

The fact that she'd gone to say "I love you" and then stopped bothered him as well. He sure as hell still loved her, and hadn't been sure if she was still in love with him. He worried about it every day, but when she almost said it, it had made his heart jump. He attempted to find something to hold his attention on the TV, and when that didn't happen he got up, got a beer and downed it quickly.

He slowly changed into boxers and a t-shirt and climbed into bed, immediately wishing her warm body was next to him, it was weird but "her" pillow still smelled like her.

He stared at the ceiling for a long while before getting up and picking up his cordless phone and dialed the number he'd called so many times before.

She was laying on her bed, the discarded stick laying a few feet away on the dresser, and her eyes were glued to it. She'd waited an hour or two for him to call her back, hoping he'd picked up on the urgency in her voice, but when he didn't she'd given up and taken a shower and gone to bed.

But she couldn't sleep. She'd begun to cry earlier in the shower, and had finally been able to reduce it to the occasional sniffle and hiccup. She didn't know why she was crying, she was happy…but not at the same time. She missed him more than he could possibly know and hated that they weren't speaking.

She was finally about to give up and roll over and go to sleep when the phone rang. She stiffened, hesitating to get up and answer it. She untangled herself from the sheets and walked into the hall and halfway down the stairs listening for the beep.

"_Hey it's me, phone is lost under the mountain of clothes upstairs probably, leave one and I'll call you back when I find it," _her voice echoed through the emptiness of the house.

"_Hey Lorelai…it's me," _his voice came through the machine and she stiffened, her heart jumping into her throat. _"I got your message and was going to call you back earlier but I got…distracted. Anytime tomorrow is fine to talk. Just…come by and let me know when. I guess that's it…I'll um…see you tomorrow."_

She breathed for what felt like the first time that evening, and when the breath let out it was shaky, and her entire body shook from both relief and fear of the conversation to come. She couldn't read his voice on the machine if he was concerned or angry or just being himself. Reading him had always been an issue until they'd gotten together, and for the past week and a half the year they'd been together seemed like it never existed.

She rolled over on the bed, pulling the crazy quilt up around her ears, and wiped her eyes again and slowly let herself fall asleep, tear stained face and all. She paid no mind to the mascara that was currently staining her white Egyptian cotton sheets, or that she was still completely clothed. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to sleep, and maybe when she woke up she would discover it was all a dream.


	2. Coming Clean

**A/N: **Hopefully this one will make up for the length of the last one....

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****Coming Clean**

Lorelai woke up the next morning, her hair a mess and the mascara and other makeup she'd been wearing the night before was now all over her sheets, pillows, the crazy quilt, and whatever else was left on her face was running in streaks down her face. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and pulled the quilt off her legs. She stood up and looked down, seeing that she'd slept in everything but her shoes from the day before. Her mussed suit from working at the inn was in disarray and missing a button, which she would later locate under her sheets. Her necklace was twisted and she had one sock on and one sock off. The only other time she'd looked this rough was after she'd found out she was pregnant with Rory when she was 16.

Rory.

She hadn't even thought about the implications this would have on her. Shit.

She pulled off her clothes on the way to the bathroom and started the shower on full blast at a temperature some would deem just south of boiling. She looked at herself in the mirror and then averted her eyes. She couldn't even make herself look herself in the eyes…how was she going to look at him? She peeled the shower curtain back and let the water pound on her tense muscles. She rubbed her shoulders and instantly wished it was his hands on her body…not her own. She dropped her arms to her sides and located her shampoo in the corner and proceeded to do all things shower related. She stood there a few minutes longer after she was done and let the water pound away the last of her tension in her shoulders. She stepped out of the shower and had barely wrapped a towel around herself when she heard the phone ring. She stepped into the hall and walked down the stairs to standby the answering machine so she could screen the call, she didn't want to talk to him just yet.

"_Lorelai? It's Sookie! It's 10:30…on a THURSDAY! Where are you? Call me back if you're not coming in, we're not that busy…I think Michel can handle it and all so just call me back and let me know you're not…you know…dead or anything…call me back! Soon! BYE!_" Her voice filtered through the machine. Lorelai could have picked it up but she had hesitated and just let her leave a message. She sighed and wrapped the towel around herself tighter before she picked up the phone.

"_Hey Sook. Yes I'm alive…I promise…Sookie…Sookie…Sookie…Hi! Okay. Yeah I'm alive. I just had a…rough night. No no, he had nothing to do with it. Yes I promise. I know I need to talk to him…I know Sookie. I called him last night. Yes I'm telling the truth…we just have things to talk about. I promise I'll fill you in on all of it when I can okay? I'm not going to be in tomorrow either...yesSook. I'm going to talk to him. I promise.Ok. I'll see youMonday morning. Go reorganize Michel's pens for me. 'atta babe."_ Lorelai said, smiling for the first time since the prior afternoon. Sookie, scatterbrained and accident prone as she is, never failed to make her smile.

She stared at the end button on the phone, and after a few minutes of internal freaking out, she grabbed her metaphorical balls and dialed his number. It rang twice before someone answered.

"_Luke's,"_ the female voice chirped.

"_Hey Lane, it's Lorelai._" She replied, almost relieved he hadn't answered the phone.

"_Hey! Aren't you supposed to be at work?"_ Lane asked.

"_It's a slow day and I woke up late, but thanks for the 3rd degree mom."_ Lorelai said, only half joking. She loved Lane, but she wasn't going to be able to take much of her this morning. _"Is Luke there?...Thanks." _She held her breath as Lane put her hand over the receiver and yelled for Luke.

"_Hello?"_ He said into the phone, not knowing it was her but secretly wishing it would be.

"_Hey, it's me."_ She said softly, trying to keep her composure.

"_Hey." _He said, his voice significantly softening.

"_I got your message last night. I would have come by, but I didn't want to start Patty and Babette talking again. When are you free to talk?_" She asked, her voice breaking slightly.

"_I understand."_ He was secretly crushed because she wouldn't be coming in, but as long as he got to see her he didn't really mind.

"_Would you mind coming here in a couple hours to talk? I'd just be easier not having to worry about anyone dropping by unexpectedly."_ She said, he could sense the hesitation in her voice and that she was scared about whatever she had to talk about.

"_That's fine. I can be at your house around 1. It's been slow today, and I don't think it will wreck anyone's world if I leave for a little while."_

"_Thanks Luke. I really appreciate it."_

"_Why would I say no?" _He asked, and the other end of the line went silent. _"Lorelai? You there?"_

"_Yeah, I'm here." _He heard her sniffle.

"_Are you okay?" _He asked, scared for her answer.

"_I will be. I'm gonna go, I'm standing here in a towel…so I need to get dressed. I'll see you at one."_

"_Okay, see you then."_

"_Oh, Luke?"_

"_I know, bring food."_

She smiled, and laughed a little. _"Thanks…I'll see you at one."_

"_I'll see you at 1."_

"_Bye."_

"_Bye."_

Lorelai hung up the phone, and pulled the phone to her chest. She smiled faintly, but when the memory of exactly what she had to talk to him about came slamming back like a Mac Truck out of control. She gathered up her towel in her hands and shuffled upstairs. After two uncomfortable phone calls almost an hour had passed and it was approaching noon. She had a little over an hour before Luke came, and he might get the wrong idea of what she wanted to talk about if she came to the door in a towel. She went back upstairs for the perfect outfit to spill the beans to him in, if there were such a thing.

Luke spent the hour after hanging up the phone with Lorelai trying to appear outwardly calm. He screwed up six out of fourteen orders and dropped an entire pot of coffee on the floor and almost broke his neck slipping on said coffee. He cursed profusely under his breath as he cleaned it up and when he put the coffee soaked towel on the counter he glanced at the clock and saw it was 12:57.

"_Shit. Caesar! I'm leaving! Can you put that last burger order I gave you in a box for me?"_ He called back into the kitchen. A minute or so later Caesar slid a box towards him and he filled a large to-go cup with coffee, capped it off and put everything in a bag before slipping out the door and heading over to Lorelai's house.

_I really hope she's okay…I think she is…she sounded…no she didn't sound okay. Shit shit shit. Maybe she wants to forget about what happened and try again. Optimism will get you no where Danes. Fuck. Maybe she wants out for good…but then again I thought we were done for good. Shit. I don't know why she's being so damn mysterious...but then again she's also Lorelai so this is nothing new. Deep breath Danes, deep breath. _

Luke paused outside her front door, wondering if he should let himself in like he used to, or knock. He hesitated with his hand on the doorknob and then taking his hand off of it like it had just been burnt. He knocked and inspected his palm for the red mark that he stupidly thought would be there. He was still closely inspecting his palm when she opened the door. He looked up and immediately knew something wasn't right.

Lorelai took his expression to mean that her time spent getting ready to try to pretend nothing was wrong. She was wearing loose red sweatpants and an "I Heart NY" t-shirt. Her feet were bare and her toenails a fresh shade of red. Her hair was pulled back into a messy half pony-tail half bun type thing and her makeup was minimal and did little to hide the bags under her eyes and the redness that was still present in her eyes.

Her eyes were the first thing he noticed. Not only were they red and slightly swollen, they lacked the luster they had had in them the last time he saw her. The formerly vibrant blue that had always been described as piercing or amazingly blue, was now a muted, clouded over almost steely blue gray. She stepped back from the door and let him in. He crossed the threshold for the first time in almost two weeks, and stood awkwardly in the foyer.

They stood there, staring at each other for a second.

"_I brought you food_." Luke said lamely trying to break the uncomfortable silence that hung so thick in the air that he was sure you could swim in it. She smiled and took it from him as he handed it to her.

That was something else. Her smile. It used to go from ear to ear, now it was merely a ghost of the smile that it once was. It was fleeting and tiny, and he wasn't even sure if it could be considered a smile.

She walked into the living room and sat on the sofa and motioned for him to sit next to her. He perched uncomfortably on the end of the couch and watched her eat for a few minutes.

"_So…" _he started, unsure if he was to instigate the conversation or to let her. She held up a finger and finished off her burger, took a swig of coffee and then turned to face him, drawing her long legs up under her and holding the coffee in both hands. She stared down into the cup, watching the foam swirl in the cup and she lightly drummed her fingers on the outside. She looked up at him, lip trembling slightly and he could see tears forming in her eyes. He scooted closer to her and put his hand on her knee.

"_Look, Lorelai. Whatever you've got to say…just say it. Please? I can't take you sitting here looking at me like you did something awful and I'm going to kill you or something when you tell me. Just say it." _He said.

"_I'm trying…it's just…it's just…"_ she stammered.

"_It's just what, Lorelai?"_ he asked. Squeezing her knee slightly. She stared down at his hand, and he moved it quickly. She looked back up and caught his eyes.

"_Okay. Just…don't say anything until I'm done okay? It's taken me since yesterday to figure out what I'm going to say…and if you say anything it's just going to throw me off."_ Luke nodded and she continued.

"_Luke, In the past two weeks I've never been more miserable in my life. I sat around thinking about you, and wanting to call you but I couldn't let myself. I sat up in that room and cried for days, because I ended the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me, and you know why? I got scared. You called it and it happened. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you, and I'm kicking myself every day for doing just that." _She said, completely not on topic of what she was going to say, but she felt like she had to say that too. He opened his mouth and she reached out and put a finger over his lips.

"_Listening only, remember?" _He nodded and she took a breath and continued.

"_I had no intention of calling you and talking to you about anything any time soon because I couldn't make myself admit that I was wrong, even though I knew it in my heart that I was. And then last night something happened. Not an epiphany, God, I wish it'd been an epiphany because that would have been so much easier to tell you that. Okay, deep breath Lorelai. Here's the thing, you remember Rory right? Of course you remember Rory, how could you not remember Rory, she was here this weekend and you've known her since she was…knee high to a pigs eye. I don't know.. Anyway. Rory has nothing to do with this. GOD why is this so hard?"_ she rambled.

"_Lorelai. Just say it. It can't be that bad."_ Luke said, replacing his hand on her knee where it had been earlier. She got up and paced across the room.

"_Okay…um. God. Okay." _She said pacing back and forth. _"Here's the thing. Luke. You're Luke. You're my Luke. Well, not my Luke at the moment, but…you know. Anyway. Okay, just say it Lorelai. God. Okay. Luke, you're Luke. I think I need a prop for this."_ She said, hurrying upstairs leaving a very confused, and a very nervous Luke sitting on the couch. She came back down a few minutes later with something in her hand and she sat down on the arm of the couch on the opposite end of Luke. She took a deep breath, looked down at her hands, and then back up, extending her left hand which clutched some sort of stick from what he could tell. He reached out and took it and turned it over in his hand where he could see a small square on the odd shaped white stick that was very obviously pink.

"_Lorelai…I don't understand. What is this?" _He said, knowing full well what it was but wanting to hear the words from her mouth instead of from a stick.

"_I'm pregnant._" She said quietly. He sat the stick on the couch and stared at it in silence for a good five minutes, with each minute passing making Lorelai more and more uncomfortable.

"_Listen Luke, I know I just freaked you out more than you've ever been freaked out in your life. Know that this in no way means we have to get back together. I mean, I wouldn't object to that but I'm not telling you we have to. You can do this as much or as little as you want. You can't be any worse than Christopher in this department. And hey, if you want to run you can run, I've done this before and I can do it again. But you've got the diner so you can't run, so if you can't deal with it you don't have to. I can leave and move somewhere else or just not come to the diner anymore or whatever you want to do. I just, you need to know. I couldn't not tell you. But I understand if you need to think, or want to go, or just want to forget I told you. I'm just…I'm sorry. Stupid fertile me getting knocked up for the second time out of wedlock. It's all my fault. I'm just super-fertile and there's nothing I can change about that, just something I was born with I guess. God…Luke? You haven't said anything for a solid five minutes…what are you thinking?"_ she said taking a breath for the first time since she'd started talking. Hell, it felt like she hadn't taken a breath since he'd come in the door.

She looked down at him where he was still staring at the stick on the couch. The fact that he hadn't said anything was freaking her out more than the fact that she was pregnant again was.

Luke was stunned. That was the only word he could think of to describe how he felt in that very minute. He didn't know if he should stand up, and walk out the door and not look back or kiss her. A tiny part of him wanted to do the first part because he was scared out of his mind. He cleared his throat.

Lorelai braced herself for the worst.

"_I…Okay. You're pregnant." _He repeated

"_Yeah."_ She said quietly.

"_You're sure," _he said.

"_Positive." _She replied, her heart dropping with every word he said.

"_Okay." _He said, looking from her to the stick, and back to her again…and then back to the stick. The tears she'd held in for as long as they'd been talking, which at this point had been no more than a half hour, including his extensive pauses, started to flow freely down her face.

"_I'm sorry" _she said quietly and got up and left the room.

He sat on the couch, trying to process everything she'd just said. It took him a minute to realize she'd left. He looked through the doorway and saw her sitting with her back to him.

"_Fuck."_ He said, mentally kicking himself. She was a mess, not to say that he wasn't a mess inside, trying to figure out what to do and say to her, but he was being an insensitive ass just sitting there and not saying anything. He stood up and brushed his hands off, leaving the pregnancy test on the couch where he'd sat it earlier. He walked into the kitchen and stood behind her.

"_Lorelai_." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She turned around, tears flowing freely down her face. Any and all makeup she'd been wearing was now running completely down her face. Her previously slightly bloodshot eyes were now completely bloodshot and tear ridden, and her blue eyes were even more muted than before.

"_No, I get it. You don't even have to say anything. I gave you a choice, and you chose the option I didn't want you to take but hey, what am I gonna do? It's not your fault I'm super fertile." _She said, a flash of anger showing in her eyes.

"_Lorelai."_ He said again calmly.

"_What."_ She snapped.

"_You never let me say anything. I didn't say I wanted to run, now did I?"_ He asked patiently.

"_No…" _she said.

"_Okay. Take a deep breath okay?"_ He said, pulling a chair up to sit across from her, and holding both of her hands in his.

"_This is the last thing I thought I'd find out today. I came over here expecting to talk about getting back together, and I find out I'm going to be a father. I'm just a little bit shell shocked." _He said. She turned away, biting her lower lip. _"Hey,"_ he said, reaching up and turning her back to face him and then returning his hand to hers._ "I never said I wasn't happy about this. I'm just surprised. You're the love of my life, and now you're having my baby. I'm out of this world." _She smiled at that, and he squeezed her hands. _"If you want me to marry you right now and do this right I will. I'll do anything you want. Just say the word."_

"_Luke. I don't want you to marry me just because I'm pregnant. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything." _She said.

"_Lorelai, I'd never do that. I'm not Christopher. I'm not going to force marriage on you if you don't want it, and I'm not going to run screaming in the other direction either. I'm going to do whatever you want. If you want to be back together and just see how things go and if we get married, great. If not, then I'll always be around as a father to this baby. Understand me?"_ Luke said, lacing his fingers with hers and squeezing her hands.

"_Let's do that. The first one," _Lorelai said smiling. Her real smile had broken free of the worry and passed through the barricade that had been holding it back. She was beaming, and her eyes were beginning to shine again. Luke stood up and pulled her to her feet, pulling her close to him. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, burying her face in his shoulder. She pulled back leaving wet spots on his blue flannel.

"_Hey, what's wrong?" _He asked.

"_Nothing. Happy tears, I promise."_ She said staring back into his eyes.

_Shit, do I kiss her?_ He thought to himself.

_Shit, do I kiss him? _She thought.

At the same time the two of them came to a consensus and leaned forward. He caught her lips with his and it was like the first kiss they ever had, soft but electric. They pulled back after a second, and then leaned in again. This time His hands went to her waist and her fingers tangled in his hair as he pulled her even closer to her. The kiss depended as she probed at his lower lip with her tongue, and he opened his mouth allowing her access. His hands slid up her side and rested on her ribcage as her hands explored his chest. She pulled back far enough for them to rest against each other, nose to nose before whispering "_God I missed you."_

"_I missed you too"_ he replied breathlessly.

"_We're having a baby" _she said, with a smile and a quick peck on the lips.

"_We are." _He said, returning the peck and running his hands down her back.

"_I love you" _she whispered, putting her head on his shoulder.

"_I love you too, I never stopped."_ Luke said. He felt her start crying against his shoulder again, and held her while she cried.


	3. Baby Makes Three

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! Wow, I'm floored that this is actually getting reviewed! I did some "Friends" fics a while back and they never got reviewed, I guess I've maybe figured out how to do this whole thing? Lol. A lot of you asked why Luke and Lorelai broke up, and pretty much Lorelai freaked out like she tends to do in relationships and ended it...I might touch more on it later but I'm not sure. The focus of this story is really the baby...that's about it. **

**It should have many more chapters cause I've got a story line in mind that will take a while to write. I'm not a big fan of skipping time either...so we'll see what happens.**

**Thanks again guys! -Kris**

**Baby Makes Three**

Luke and Lorelai stood in the kitchen that afternoon for an hour, just holding each other and occasionally lightly kissing. It was nearing on five that evening when Luke had to leave to go back to the diner to tell Caesar he wouldn't be coming back. He had tried to call several times but no one would answer at the diner.

They were sitting on the couch, just cuddling when he had to go.

_"I have to go. I'm going to tell Caesar to close for me and that I wont be in tomorrow. We've too much to do." _He said, kissing her cheek.

_"Okay. You'll be back soon?"_ she asked, sounding slightly like a small child at daycare asking for reassurance that their parent would be back.

"_I promise. Are you going to call Rory?" _he asked.

_"Not yet. I want everything to be perfect before I tell her. Plus it's considered bad luck to tell anyone before the second trimester."_ She said, sitting up so he could get up.

"_So you're not even going to tell Rory?"_ he asked in slight disbelief.

"_Nope. Not even Rory. This is our little secret."_ She said, smiling at him as he stared at her stomach. _"You know there's nothing different looking on the outside yet…right?"_

_"I know. It's just amazing to think about"_ he said, pushing her shirt up so he could slide his hand across her bare stomach. He noticed her shiver as he did so and stopped his hand right over where a small bump would form soon.

She smiled as he stared at her stomach and shivered slightly when he ran his hand across it. She reached down and put her hand on top of his, and laced her fingers with his.

"_Go, you've got to make sure Caesar and Lane know you aren't dead or anything."_ She said, squeezing his hand. He sat up and kissed her lightly. She trapped his lips with hers and kissed him deeply as he stood up.

"_I'll be back in a half hour or so_." Luke said

_"With coffee?" _she asked, her eyes big and pleading like. She pouted for extra effect.

"_Nope. Not anymore. Only if it's decaf…and only then two cups a day."_ He said.

"_Aggh!" _she whined flopping back against the couch. _"Okay. Bye."_

_"I'll hurry back. I promise."_ He said with his hand on the doorknob. _"I love you."_

_"I love you too." _She said from where she was sitting on the couch.

After Luke left Lorelai sat on the couch for a few minutes, dazed a little from the events of the past several hours. She hadn't imagined that it would go as well as it did…and with any other man it wouldn't have gone as well. But this was Luke, her Luke. Now he was hers again, all hers. She'd been miserable the entire time they were apart, and now in the span of four and a half hours they'd not only made up and gotten back together but they were now planning for their future offspring. Ew, she didn't like that word, sounded too much like the band, hell it was the band's name. Spawn? Fruit of her loins? Child? Kid. Kid was good. She'd always called Rory her kid, never her child…only really old and really snooty people called their kid their child or their kids their children. God, this baby would make her have children…kids. And one of which would be half Luke's.

She needed to shower. Even though she'd taken a shower that morning, she still felt gross.

Ten minutes later she stood in the bathroom, clad only in a purple sparkly bra and Hello Kitty underwear, examining herself in the mirror. She scrutinized her midriff, looking for anything that might alert the public that she was pregnant. Nothing yet. Not that she didn't want there to be any signs that she was…with child…with kid…she just wanted to keep this their little secret for a little while.

She showered, and made herself look a little bit more presentable for when Luke came back. She slid into a pair of jeans and a light weight long sleeved green t-shirt. She shook her hair out and let it dry into it's natural lose waves and put on a touch of makeup before going back downstairs and making herself a glass of iced tea.

Twenty minutes and two magazines later there was still no Luke gracing her presence. She figured he was just running late and went into the living room and gracefully flopped onto the couch with a bag of chips and a new glass of iced tea. She turned on the TV and aimlessly flipped channels until an appeasing episode of Viva La Bam came on and she sat the remote on the coffee table. Her eyes kept drifting to the clock on the wall, wondering what was keeping Luke. For some reason the show containing somewhat amusing practical jokes and dumb-ass stunts couldn't keep her interest for the first time in, well, forever. She drummed her fingers on her stomach and tried valiantly not to look at the clock.

Two hours later and still no Luke.

She was starting to just slightly freak out. Just a little.

She got up and found the phone and came back and sat cross-legged on the couch and dialed the number to the diner.

_"Lukes,"_ a male voice that didn't belong to Luke answered.

"_Hey Caesar. Is Luke there?"_ she asked, praying he'd just say he was upstairs or something.

_"No he left about two hours ago, didn't say where he was going. Want me to tell him you called?"_ Caesar asked.

_"No. I'll just try again later. Thanks Caesar._" Lorelai said, pushing the off button. She stared down at the phone.

"_Where the hell is he?_" She wondered aloud…and then suddenly she was seized with a flash of terror.

He was running.

He said he wouldn't, but then he actually thought about what she'd said, and now she just knew he was running.

Just like Christopher.

No. He wasn't Christopher. Nothing about him was anything like Christopher. He was Luke. He was her kind, caring, and understanding Luke. He was the Luke that was going to be a great father, and wanted to be a father even if it had snuck up and bit him on the ass much in the same way it had Christopher.

She had to stop comparing Luke to Christopher. She had to. She was thinking crazy, and needed to stop.

She pulled her legs underneath her and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up underneath it. She pulled the book Rory had left on the table next to the couch when she had been at the house over the weekend, and opened it, praying it would keep her attention. She got ten pages into it…and then it didn't anymore. Now she was just miserable and with a headache.

She bit her lower lip in a valiant attempt to keep the tears from exploding forth and flowing down her cheeks.

No such luck.

She sobbed softly into a pillow, letting the purple fake velvet soak up her tears and excess mascara. She found herself wondering why the hell she put makeup on just to sit here and cry.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but the last time she checked the clock had been 9:30. Four hours after he said he'd be there. She'd slept on the couch for two hours, and without opening her eyes or even moving she knew she was going to be in more pain than she could possibly imagine when she finally did move. She let herself drift off for just a few more minutes and then she'd get up and go to bed.

She opened her eyes some three hours later and found herself staring into someone else's eyes. She almost screamed, and then she saw the familiar green and gold flecks intermixed with the blue gray and realized who it was and sat up quickly.

"_Hi." _He said. She ignored him. He noticed the mascara streaks and faint tear tracks down her cheeks. Shit. He knew he was in trouble. He had to explain it to her.

"_Listen Lorelai…_" he started.

_"What." _She said, giving him a glare. _"You were supposed to be here…6 hours ago,"_ she said after checking the clock.

_"I know. I'm sorry. Will you listen to me?" _Luke said, almost pleading.

_"Why? I get it. You changed your mind. You can go back to your hideout now. I just hope you plan on staying there for the next nine months."_ She said, throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

_"Lorelai. Listen to me. I want to explain."_ Luke said.

_"There's nothing to explain. I get it._" She said getting up and walking towards the stairs.

_"Lorelai would you stop and listen to me?_" he asked following her up the stairs and into her room.

_"You have 7 minutes. Go." _She retorted.

_"Why 7?"_

_"6 ½…"_

_"Okay okay. Look. I went back to the diner and told Caesar I was going to be gone for the rest of the day and probably the next day or two and then I got in the car to come here but I needed to think, so I drove around aimlessly and wound up in Hartford. At the mall, Lorelai. The mall. You know the place that I hate? Right. Anyway. I wound up at the mall and was standing in front of this store. So I went in and almost vomited from the cuteness of the whole place, made my purchase and left. Then I got back in the car and drove around some more with this package in my passenger seat. I stopped at the park up there, you know the one I took you to a while ago…or rather you drug me to so that I could experience a picnic?"_ He rambled.

She knew the place, she loved the place. She nodded.

_"Okay. Anyway, I parked the truck and sat on a bench and just stared at the water for a little bit, watching the ducks and stuff. I won't lie. I started freaking out. I started panicking because my dad wasn't the most fatherly father in the entire world and I have no idea what to do. I sat there freaking out and trying to figure out what I was going to do and if I changed my mind how I was going to tell you that I did change my mind." _He continued.

_"So you did change your mind." _She said from where she sat on the bed, staring at her hands.

_"No, Lorelai listen I'm not done."_ Luke said. He sat down across from her and took her hands in his. _"And then I looked up and saw this guy, this dad, and his little boy playing with a puppy in the grass. They were laughing and smiling and he was teaching the little boy how to throw the ball to the puppy. And I realized that that was what I wanted. I want to be the guy teaching the kid to throw. I wanted to be the one laughing and playing with the little boy. Then I realized it might not be a boy, and started to freak out again because the only contact I've had with girls…well girls that are children younger than 10 is Rory and she really doesn't count. Then I saw this man and woman sitting on the pavement of the parking lot with a really little girl and she was coloring on the pavement with bright pink chalk. And I realized that that wouldn't be that bad either. So I got back in the car and started driving here, and then I got here and you were asleep so I just sat here and watched you sleep. Then you woke up and started yelling at me. But Lorelai…I want this. I do. I had a doubt in my mind for two seconds but it's completely gone now. There will be no more doubts. I want this. I want to be involved with this baby. Which is why I got this…" _he said, pulling a small yellow and white blanket out of the bag and sat it between them.

Lorelai looked at the blanket, and then let the tears flow freely. Why had she ever doubted him? Why had she ever doubted this beautifully amazing man standing, well sitting, in front of her for a single second? She ran her hand across the soft patchwork quilt that looked like it just may have cost a small fortune.

_"I'm sorry." _She said, almost inaudibly.

"_Don't be. It's my fault. I should have called."_ He said, putting his hand on her thigh.

_"I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. Damn hormones." _She said, wiping away a tear. He moved her hand from her face and wiped away her tears himself.

_"It's okay. I understand. From what I hear hormones are a part of the package."_ He said, letting his hand linger on her cheek.

_"So are morning sickness and weight gain." _She replied with a smirk. _"Will you still love me when I'm puke at 6am…and then again at 6:10…and at 6:20 and so on and looking like a whale and wearing a size 43 in jeans?"_

_"Considering my only sources for another single female in this town are Patti and the Saunderson twins who, might I add, are 8…I think you're good."_ He said, rolling his eyes.

_"I'll take that as a yes."_ She said.

_"So we're good?"_ He asked hesitantly.

_"We're good." _She replied.

Luke leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. They leaned forehead for forehead for a second and then she shifted a little and they met in a soft sweet kiss. Her lips lingered on his for a few minutes as he slid his hand up and down her thigh. She pulled back, breathless from even that one small kiss.

_"It's been a long and emotionally demanding day…are you going to hate me if I don't put out this once?" _she asked, with a familiar gleam in her eye.

_"I think I'll survive. Just this once." _He said leaning forward and kissing her again. She melted at his touch every time, and it simply amazed them both how much they were in love with each other. Not returning the kiss wasn't an option. She leaned into it and if she hadn't been so tired and so cranky she would have let it go a lot further. After a few minutes she pulled away, both of them breathless.

_"Can you stay?"_ she asked hopefully.

_"I can. I still have pajamas here right?"_ he asked.

_"I think…whether or not they're clean is a different question." _She said smiling. She threw him a pair of sweatpants he'd left over the last time he'd been at her house…close to three weeks ago.

He sniffed them. They smelled okay, so he slipped out of his jeans and into the sweatpants. Pulling his flannel and t-shirt off over his head and throwing it on the floor he reveled in how nice it was to be back together.

She slipped into the bathroom and pulled on her I Love Lucy PJ bottoms and a white long sleeved t-shirt and shook her hair out and went back into the bedroom. She found Luke fiddling with the alarm clock and smiled. It was good to be back together.

_"Hey, set it for 9:30. I forgot in tonight's craziness that I made a doctors appointment tomorrow a couple days ago."_ She said, crawling into bed.

_"You knew a couple days ago?" _He asked.

_"Well, I thought. Woman's instinct, but I couldn't make myself even take a home test until yesterday." _She said, snuggling against him after he crawled in beside her.

_"Ah I see."_ He said, pulling her closer to him and wrapping his arm around her and she buried her face in his neck.

_"I missed this." _She said, inhaling the sent that was distinctly Luke. She rest her hand on his chest and he kissed her forehead.

_"Me too." _He replied, running his hand up and down her back.

_"I love you."_ She said, tilting her head up and kissing him lightly.

_"I love you too,"_ he said as she snuggled into him further. He brought his other arm around and rested it on her stomach, and covering his hand with hers the two of them fell asleep.

**A/N: I know I know, "Two author's notes? WHAT IS SHE THINKING!?" But, I just wanted to give any youngins that might be reading that the next chapter is where the rating comes into effect. It gets kinda...ehhhhhh raunchy? No. Steamy. I refuse to think of Luke and Lorelai action as raunchy. Oh who am I kidding. It's raunchy. lol. Just wanted to give you the heads up! It should be up...ehhh tonight (Saturday the 15th) or tomorrow. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Are You Calling Me Old?

**A/N: Hey guys! MY GOD I am SO sorry it took me this long to get this chapter up. I've been hella busy lately, I'm a freshman theatre major so my time is like zilch lately. But, my deepest apologies.**

**NOTE: This is indeed a semi raunchy chapter around the middle of it...well lies, a couple paragraphs in. If you don't want to read that part you don't have to, it's not really crucial but it just lets people have a little L/L action :) **

**To the reviewers: Ya'll are SERIOUSLY awesome. I hope you all like this chapter (and the forthcoming ones) just as much! **

**OH! There are lyrics used in this one (they're centered, bolded, and italicized) and they're from the Stephen Speaks song "Out of My League" (hence the title of the fic)**

**Are You Calling Me Old?**

Luke and Lorelai woke up the next morning in a tangle of limbs and blankets. Lorelai's leg was thrown across his midsection as she sprawled the wrong way across the bed. All he could see of her was the top of her head, her toes, and one hand. The rest of her body was under a pile of blankets. If there was one thing Luke had missed more than anything, was waking up like this every morning. Granted, he always woke up with a crick in some part of his body, but he loved her erratic sleeping along with everything else about her.

_"Evil, evil beeping."_ Lorelai muttered from under the blanket. Luke could see her limbs flailing slightly as she attempted to find a way out from the cocoon of blankets she was wrapped in.

_"I know…get up…we have to."_ Luke said, sliding out from under her leg that was still thrown across his stomach. All he got was a grunt in response.

_"Come on. You've got a doctors appointment…or rather we have a doctors appointment…remember? Get up." _Luke said, poking her foot.

_"Oh, right." _Lorelai said extracting herself from the covers. She shivered when her feet hit the slightly cold floorboards of her room, and then she shuffled over to where Luke was standing. She leaned against him.

_"Unless you've turned into a Great Dane…which I pray to God you haven't, I'm going to have to ask that the leaning cease and desist before I fall over."_ He said, taking a step away, causing her to stumble a few steps.

_"Look at you endangering the life of not only me but our unborn child! I could have fallen into the nightstand and been impaled on the fuzzy blue clock that doesn't work and died a horrible painful death and…"_ she rambled. He silenced her by planting a kiss firmly on her lips, and after a few seconds stepping back.

_"Forgiven."_ She said, leaning in for another kiss, and yet again he stepped back.

_"Shower."_

_"Ugh, fine."_ She said giving him a playful shove and side stepping around him to get into the shower. She stripped down and stepped into the shower, and was delightfully surprised when he stepped in behind her.

_"Oh, well hello there." _She said, scooting back against him. _"I thought we were in a hurry."_ She said, as he ran his hand across her stomach.

_"Never said that, in fact…we're up an extra half hour early."_ He said, kissing her neck softly.

_"If your lips weren't doing beautiful things right now, I'd have some objection to you getting me up earlier than I have to be…but since they are…I'm just gonna shut up now…" _She said, her voice getting breathy with anticipation.

She turned around and met his lips with hers full on. She'd be a liar if she denied the fact that the forthcoming sex wouldn't be amazing due to the fact that not only was it sex with Luke, it was makeup sex, and we-just-found-out-we're-pregnant sex. She smiled as she kissed him, and then probed slightly to get him to allow her tongue access to his mouth.

She was driving him crazy, it was all he could do not to throw open the shower and drag her to the bedroom and…well to be barbaric about saying it…fuck her brains out while they were still soaking wet. Though, he also knew that shower sex was fun…from experience of course. And that experience, of course yet again, had been with Lorelai.

They stood there, groping and kissing and sliding against one another in their warm wet surroundings. His hands slid down out of her tangled wet hair, down her back, and came to rest right on her taut ass, and he slowly kneaded it with his fingers. She leaned into him, harder this time, but not unlike she had earlier when he'd called her a Great Dane…but this time he didn't exactly care.

The skin to skin contact was something she hadn't realized she'd craved as much as she had. As her hardened nipples came in contact with his chest she gasped into his mouth, causing him to pull back a little from her. That would not do, so she pulled him back and even closer than before. Her hands wandered all over his back and down his arms and to his chest. She slid them down painstakingly slow, which she knew drove him crazy, and let them rest gently on his thighs. She felt his leg shudder slightly as she sat her hand on it, and she smiled into the kiss they were still locked in.

They pulled apart, and panting slightly and rested their foreheads together. He slid his hands back up her sides and brought one to rest on her breast as he slowly kissed his way down the side of her face, lingering at the spot right below her ear that he knew was one of her 'spots'. Continuing his way down her shoulder and across her chest he slowly massaged the breast he'd left his hand on as he kissed down between her breasts and slowly across the other one, leaving light kisses that were hardly more than a brush of his lips all the way across and making sure to avoid her nipple.

She was going insane. She took in a sharp breath as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked slowly, playing with it and every now and then flicking it with his tongue. Her mouth dropped open, she'd forgotten in just two weeks just how amazing that felt, and how amazing he was at all of this. The hands that had been resting on his thighs immediately went to his hair and intertwined in it as he moved from breast to breast, giving each one the time it deserved.

When he was satisfied that she was now plenty hot and bothered, and not to mention so was he, he kissed back up her chest and back up her neck and to her lips.

They turned so that her back was against the wall of the shower opposite of the sprayer, their lips never leaving each other's unless it was to suckle gently on a neck or an earlobe and their hands constantly roaming each other's body. Her hands ran down his chest and back to his thighs, where she didn't rest them this time. She slowly drug her nails up and down the inside of his thigh and she barely had time to think before he'd lifted her up a little with her back still against the wall, giving him access to do what they both wanted.

Lorelai's mouth dropped open in surprise as he entered her slowly but with purpose, and she had only a split second before Luke's lips were back on hers. Their bodies moved in rhythm together, Lorelai keeping one hand braced against one wall and the other wrapped around Luke's neck as they kissed hungrily.

Thirty minutes later, and now running fifteen minutes behind, they emerged from the bedroom fully clothed, showered, and sexed.

Lorelai checked her hair in the mirror and grabbed her purse off the table before running outside to meet Luke at the Jeep. She smiled to herself, they were back to the way they had been before she'd screwed it up.

_Wow, that's the first time I've ever admitted it was my fault. Even to myself._ Lorelai thought. She smiled, and bit her lip. Everything was working out how it should…well sort of how it should. If things were the way they should be they wouldn't have lost any time, and she probably wouldn't be pregnant right now...well she'd gotten pregnant right before the breakup. So yes, she would have been pregnant.

Luke watched her cross the yard to the Jeep, smiling to herself. There were so many things worth smiling about today of all days.

She felt him watching her, and decided to make it worth his while adding a little extra sass in her step. She tossed her hair and shot him a devilish grin, just like she always had. She pulled open the door of the Jeep and got in, leaned over and gave him a quick peck.

_What was that for?_ He wondered, and before he could say anything she smiled at him from her spot in the drivers seat.

_"Just because."_ She said. She put the Jeep in reverse and pulled out of the driveway and onto the streets of Stars Hollow.

_I hadn't even thought about the town…what are they going to say? They don't even know we're back together. Hell, if it hadn't been for our particularly public screaming match near the gazebo they wouldn't know we were broken up. A big deal is gonna be made and that's so the last thing I want right now. I told him I wanted to keep it between the two of us for now…didn't I? _Lorelai found herself inwardly freaking out.

_Shit. The town. Sometimes I really fucking hate living here, damn crazy people. I'm sure they'll know soon enough…but of course the gossip that will hit them first is that we're back together. Well now maybe some of them will stop shooting me death glares…by now most of them know I wasn't the one who ended it but with that particularly public and embarrassing verbal sparring match, which ended in Lorelai running off towards her house in tears, some still think I'm an awful person for hurting her. Whatever, that's in the past. Forget about it Danes. The town will find out soon enough…but we are keeping this between the two of us for now…she did say that didn't she?_ Luke, always the rational one, thought to himself.

_"We're keeping this between the two of us right?" _They both said at the same time, and then laughed.

_"I'm guessing you were just thinking the same thing I was." _Lorelai said.

_"That we live in a very elaborate mental institution?" _Luke replied

_"Yeah, something like that."_ Lorelai smiled and said as she continued to drive towards Hartford.

After a few minutes of semi awkward silence, Luke was the first one to break the somewhat heavy pause.

_"So what's going to go on at this appointment?"_ Luke asked, hoping it would be nothing too gross or girl-part oriented, because all though he was a fan of the girl-parts…he had no intentions of getting all up close and personal with them in anything other than a sexual act.

_"Well, it's been like…two decades...damn I'm old…since I've done this. Last time I went for my first OBGYN appointment they just did the actual hi-tech pregnancy test and some blood work and then an ultrasound. That's about it. Nothing too gross or anything" _she said, smiling and knowing he'd been thinking about that.

_"Oh, well that doesn't sound too bad."_ He said. The silence came back again, but it was more comfortable this time.

Lorelai reached her hand across the console and laced her fingers with Luke's where it rested on his armrest. She squeezed it and he let out the breath he'd been holding for the past few minutes.

Lorelai turned into the parking lot for the doctor's office a few minutes later. She parked the car, turned off the ignition and then turned to face Luke after unbuckling her seatbelt.

_"This is your last chance. Once we get in there and they do the ultrasound and we see this kid on the screen there is no backing out. I'll strap you down if I have to. But right now you're still free to run." _Lorelai said, keeping her hand on top of his but unlacing their fingers.

_"Lorelai. Would I be here if I was going to run. Let's go in. I promise. I'm staying."_ Luke said, relacing their fingers and pulling her hand towards him and kissing the back of it. She smiled and leaned across and kissed him full on for a few seconds before pulling back.

_"You've got lipstick."_ She said, beckoning him towards her and wiping away the lipstick she'd left above his lip. _"That'd make a good impression on the doctor. Walk in and show evidence that we, full grown adults, have been necking in the car before a OBGYN appointment. Leaves little to the imagination, no?"_ she teased as they got out of the car.

They came around the front of the car and Luke snaked an arm around her waist as they walked into the office, neither of them really sure what to expect.

The waiting room was full of mothers in varying states of pregnancy, a smattering of fathers and some mothers with babies of varying ages. Lorelai lead Luke up to the receptionist where she signed in and put the doctor she was seeing and the time.

_"Well Ms. Gilmore, since this is your first visit you'll have to fill out these forms."_ The perky redhead said handing her three forms, one blue, one pink, and one yellow. She noticed Lorelai had detected the color scheme. _"We're covering all the bases."_

_"What's the yellow for? A transvestite baby?" _Lorelai asked. Luke jabbed her in the rib and led her away from the window, thanking the receptionist, and over to the chairs.

_"Name, well that's easy….I hate doing these things"_ she whined as she filled out the form. She looked up after she finished the second form and noticed Luke scanning the crowd and lingering on each pregnant woman in turn.

_"Some of these women are just HUGE"_ Luke whispered to her.

_"You do realize I'm going to get that big right?" _She said, her face falling a little.

_"No, you're not. These women are just…big. You'll be one of those who looks like she swallowed a basket ball."_ Luke said kissing her forehead.

_"More like a beach ball" _Lorelai muttered and signed the spaces indicated on the yellow form and handed them to Luke.

_"What do I…"_ he said looking at the forms and then at her…noticing she had turned a simply divine shade of green. "_Oh. Go."_ He said pointing towards the restroom sign. She jumped up and walked briskly towards the bathroom. Luke too the forms back to the receptionist and she smiled at him.

_"Are you the father?" _she asked, surprising Luke.

_"Yes but I don't really see how that's…"_ he started.

_"There's a place for you to sign on here. That's the only reason I asked." _She said, sliding the yellow form back to him. He signed his name to the line she indicated and gave her the form back. He smiled to himself as he walked back over to their chairs, he'd just done the first fatherly thing of his life…and there were many more to come.

Lorelai stared in the mirror at herself, deducing if she looked green or not anymore. Hopefully not seeing as how the entire contents of her stomach were now located in the sewer lines below the doctor's office. She washed her hands again and then went back out to join Luke in the lobby just as the nurse called her name.

_"Lorelai Gilmore?"_ she called.

Luke got up and joined Lorelai and they walked through the doors to the hall of exam rooms, but they didn't get through the door before they heard a woman say to her husband.

_"Lorelai, that's a pretty name, right that down. I wonder what it goes with…"_

Lorelai smiled and poked her head back out the door and said, "_Well I've had success with both Victoria and Leigh_._"_ The woman turned a deep shade of scarlet and Lorelai winked and went back into the hallway with the nurse and Luke.

A few minutes later Lorelai was situated on the table with a paper gown on and Luke was sitting uncomfortably on a stool next to her.

_"Luke, breathe. Nothing in here is going to eat you or hurt you in any way."_ Lorelai said patting his arm as she saw him staring at the poster of a close up of a woman in labor and the varying stages of the appearance of the head. A little color returned to his cheeks.

A few minutes passed, during which Luke managed to freak out over everything in the room including a model of a fetus…to which Lorelai had said, _"Luke! That's what our kid is gonna look like for like 7 of the 9 months."_ And he'd turned nine shades of red and stammered before she kissed his hand and smiled. Both of them were becoming antsy and more than impatient.

They didn't have to wait much longer, the doctor swept in a few minutes later in a mass of her large white coat and her wildly curly brunette hair.

_"Hey guys I'm Dr. Warner." _The young woman said, shaking both Lorelai and Luke's hands.

_"Lorelai Gilmore"_ Lorelai said, and then jerked a finger at Luke. _"And Luke Danes. Daddy." _

"_Well, it's nice to meet both of you. How are we today…Lorelai?" _She asked after checking the chart.

_"Pretty good, pregnant. I think." _Lorelai said smiling at the bubbly young woman.

_"Well we can solve that question really easy. We're gonna have to take some blood and do some workup on you and all that good stuff, and do your first pelvic…oh don't give me that look daddy…and then your first ultrasound."_ Dr. Warner said, checking the chart quickly.

She took Lorelai's vitals and made some notes in the chart and then pulled a syringe out of a sterile package and proceeded to get ready to take Lorelai's blood. Luke blanched at the sight of the needle.

_"Oh come on Luke, it's tiny in comparison to the one they shove in my back for the epidural." _Lorelai said, taking his hand. She wasn't going to let on that she really was nervous, but she knew Luke had picked up on it but she was praying the doctor hadn't. He squeezed her hand back and she relaxed a little as Dr. Warner cleaned her arm with the cool alcohol swab and then he felt her brace herself for the prick.

Lorelai squeezed Luke's hands as she averted her eyes from the syringe and bit her lip as she looked at Luke. They held each others gaze while the blood was drawn and when the needle left her arm Lorelai smiled faintly and mouthed thank you to him before she squeezed his hand and let their hands fall back down on the table.

_"I'll run this down to the lab and it'll take like ten minutes to get the results back. I'll have a nurse come in and set up for the ultrasound and pelvic in just a second. You two just sit tight and no funny business. I can't tell you how many times I've walked back in and found some couple making out right there on the table…"_ Dr. Warner called over her shoulder as she walked out.

Lorelai waggled her eyebrows at Luke and he rolled his eyes.

_"Did you really not get enough…two hours ago?" _he asked, regarding the time.

_"Is there such thing?"_ she asked, leaning seductively towards him. He gave in and let her trap his lips with hers.

_He's come a long way. He used to not let me kiss him in public…not that this is exactly public but we still run the risk of being caught…_Lorelai thought to herself.

They sat there, innocently kissing for a few minutes before they pulled apart and she smiled at him, her blue eyes flashing and her hair falling in her face. She reached up to push it away and he beat her to it, letting his hand linger on her cheek for a second. She leaned into it and rubbed her cheek against his hand.

_**It's her hair and her eyes today,**_

_**That just simply take me away.**_

They didn't have to wait much longer for the nurse, who was followed shortly by the doctor. It didn't take long for them to get the news they'd been waiting on.

_"You are without a doubt pregnant. They did the test and it was overwhelmingly positive. You're about 8 ½ weeks along." _Dr. Warner said. "_Congratulations."_

Luke was absolutely beaming, and leaned over and kissed Lorelai quickly before the doctor carried on with the rest of the testing…during which he kept his eyes locked on the upper half of Lorelai, and on the posters surrounding the room. It wasn't until he heard Dr. Warner's rubber glove snap when she took them off did he turn his eyes towards her.

_"Everything looks really good so far. Ready for the ultrasound?"_ Dr. Warner asked, to which Lorelai nodded vigorously and covered her and Luke's hands with her other one, leaning into him a little more. Lorelai and the doctor situated Lorelai's clothing so that her stomach was exposed.

_"It's gonna be cold…just a heads up." _Dr. Warner said, pulling the cart containing the machine closer to her and picking up the gel. She squeezed a good amount onto Lorelai's stomach causing her to shiver a little. She moved the ultrasound wand over Lorelai's midsection and swept it across a couple times before she located what she was looking for.

Luke felt both his hands getting sweaty and Lorelai's start to shake. In a few seconds they'd see their baby for the first time. He felt like he was going to pass out.

_"Alright, here we are." _She said hitting a button and turning the monitor to face Luke and Lorelai. _"Right here," _she said pointing out a lighter spot that was tiny, but easily seen on the screen if you looked for it, _"is your baby."_

Luke felt Lorelai squeeze his hand which snapped him out of the daze he was in, he had still been staring at the screen. He looked down and noticed the tears running down her face. He leaned over and kiss her softly and then kissed her forehead.

Lorelai looked up at Luke, and squeezed his hand. She couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks. The moment was perfect. She hadn't had anyone with her the first time she'd seen Rory, and she had to admit this was a much better way to do it. Luke looked down at her and she could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but of course he was a big man and wouldn't cry. She almost laughed, but then he leaned down and kissed her softly, and then before standing back up he kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand again.

They turned their attention back away from each other and back to the screen. The doctor had been checking things out during their little exchange and had taken a couple of still shots that she'd give the two of them when they left. She pressed a button on the wand and moved it around again before a faint, but strong, pulsating noise filled the room.

Luke's breath caught in his throat, and he could have sworn his heart stopped. He took a gulping breath before asking somewhat shakily, _"Is that…is that the heartbeat?"_

Lorelai's tears were running freely down her face again. She was sitting in this OBGYN office with the love of her life and he was practically putty at hearing their baby's heartbeat. He was going to be an amazing father. And he was here.

_"Yes, it's nice and strong. Lorelai as far as I can tell you and the baby are in excellent health. We'll see you back in three weeks to check up on you again. I'll write you a prescription for your prenatal vitamins and you can pick it up when you check out. With pregnancy with an older woman, not that you're old, you're just not sixteen anymore," _she said, correcting herself quickly, "_you've GOT to make sure you take them and are very careful about hat you eat and drink. No alcohol, minimal caffeine and watch the sugar intake.Any questions before I scoot out of here and down to the woman having quadruplets in the room next door?" _Dr. Warner asked

_"Gah…the caffeine and sugar thing is going to kill me…but no I don't think so. It has been over 20 years since the last time I did this, but I think we've got it covered." _Lorelai said, shaking the doctor's hand again. Luke did the same and the door clicked shut behind her.

Lorelai smiled up at Luke, her cheeks still wet with tears. She reached her hands up to wipe them dry when she was stopped by Luke pulling her hands away. He cupped her face with his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs ever so softly. She smiled and closed her eyes a little. He leaned over and softly kissed her.

Luke was still floored. He'd known he was going to be a father from the moment she showed him the pregnancy test, but this made it more official. Hearing the heartbeat had almost made him cry. He, the guy who hadn't cried since his mom died when he was young, had been turned to putty by something an inch or so long that was at this point floating warm and happy inside Lorelai. It was something that couldn't even nag him yet. He laughed and shook his head as Lorelai got dressed. She walked up to him after she'd put her clothes back on and put her arms around his neck

_"Hi, Daddy."_ She said, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

_"Okay, you can't call me that until we're sure that thing can hear…or until it's born." _Luke said, giving her a look.

Lorelai smiled, and the two of them left the office after picking up the pictures and paying the co-pay at the front desk. They drove back to Stars Hollow in amicable silence, both still thinking about the baby. Lorelai stopped the Jeep in front of the diner and both of them got out. Lorelai leaned against the side of the Jeep and Luke snaked his arm around her waist before they went inside and pulled himself to her.

_"I love you. I don't think I said that today."_ Lorelai whispered to him, putting her arms around his neck.

_"Oh, you did, but I can never hear it too much. I love you too." _He said, she pulled his head down towards with her hands that were on the back of his neck. They rested forehead to forehead for a second, staring into each others eyes before he closed the few more inches between them and softly pressed his lips against hers. She smiled at how gentle he was being, it wasn't uncommon these days. He was treating her like she was made out of glass, and she loved it and sometimes hated it at the same time. She deepened the kiss a little, pulling him into her harder and seeing this as a go ahead, which it was, Luke slowly slid his tongue along her lower lip in an attempt to gain access which she readily admitted him.

They stood there, engrossed in each other and the exploration of each other's mouths, hell…and each others tonsils it seemed like, for a good ten minutes. Their hands roaming, hers winding up in his hair, running her hands through it, and his around her waist, the one hand hidden by the car on her ass. They pulled back after the ten minutes had passed to breathe and they rested foreheads together. Both of their blue eyes deepening in color with desire and their chests heaving, it took so little for the two of them to just get completely turned on these days.

_"I need to go inside."_ He whispered.

_"Okay. I'm gonna go home and sleep for a little while and maybe give Rory a call."_ She said, moving her hands to rest on his chest.

_"You're going to tell her?" _Luke asked.

_"No, just want to talk to her. I haven't talked to her in a couple days because of all of this, just need to catch up and see how she and her…non-boyfriend are doing." _Lorelai said.

_"Oh, okay. I'll be home as soon as I can. I just need to check on things and help Caesar with the dinner rush and then I'll be home,"_ He said, kissing her softly one more time, and then pulling back before things got heated again, much to her dismay. _"I love you,_" he said again in not quite a whisper and then looking down slightly he whispered "_I love you too."_

Lorelai's eyes filled up with tears and she smiled at him as one trailed down her cheek. _"I love you too," _she said running her hands down to hold his. _"Mommy loves you too," _she whispered, letting one of their joined sets of hands trail across her stomach.

"_**And the feeling that I'm falling farther in love makes me shiver,**_

_**but in a good way."**_


	5. Roses and Pam Anderson

**AN: **Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews guys! This chapter is a little bit shorter than the others (I think...I haven't compared them but it took less time to write) and I apologize. I'm building up to an event and I had to get this chapter out of the way first. Originally this one and the next one were going to be one big chapter, but I figured I'd leave you in suspense a little bit longer.

I've forgotten to put a disclaimer on my story before now...but I sadly own nothing. I'm just a poor theatre student....

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**You'd Be Surprised**

Two days later, Lorelai was hunched over the toilet, dry heaving for the 3rd time that morning. She groaned and rested her head against the cool ceramic of the seat. She didn't care that she'd just laid her head on a toilet, she was just glad it was cold.

Luke had just gotten up when he heard Lorelai run to the bathroom. She'd adamantly protested that she didn't need help from her side of the bathroom door. He'd thought other wise but went downstairs to get her some water. The fridge in her house was now surprisingly well stocked, thanks to him, and he was slowly weaning her off coffee for the next 9 months. She'd succumbed to decaf, and only 2 cups a day. She wasn't quite as perky as she'd always been, but he was okay with that. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge (as the cooler had been empty for a few days and they were waiting on the delivery guy to bring the replacement bottle) and took it back upstairs to her.

Lorelai heard him knock softly on the door and groaned in response.

Luke took that as his cue to come in the bathroom. She looked up at him from her half sitting half laying position on the floor and tried to smile.

_"This sucks." _She said.

_"One of those things you selectively forget about pregnancy" _he asked, handing her the bottle of water. She nodded weakly and took a sip. He leaned against the door as she resumed getting ready. It was only 7 in the morning, but thanks to her morning sickness once she was up, she was up, and this kid had a tendency of waking her up nice and early. Luke had started only opening twice a week, so he was home most of the time when she needed him, but until the day before she'd been okay as far as morning sickness goes. Okay, meaning she hadn't had any yet. And then yesterday morning she'd started throwing up her internal organs every morning until 11.

She motioned for him to help her up so she could finish getting ready, he grabbed her hands and helped pull her up and encircled her with his arms. She rested her head against his chest and sighed. She felt like crap, but she knew it'd go away soon. He moved her hair out of the way and kissed her forehead. She pulled back and smiled at him, her face still pale from throwing up.

_"I should finish getting ready."_ She said pulling back from him and moving towards the sink. Luke turned on the shower and pulled off his shirt in preparation to get in.

Lorelai whistled at him and then commenced brushing her teeth. He was about to pull his pants off when he heard her gag and turned just in time to pull her hair back as she threw up again.

_"I didn't think there was anything left in me to throw up." _She said weakly as she sat back against Luke and he brushed the few stray hairs off of her face. She closed her eyes and then got back up again. "_Avoiding the toothbrush for a few more minutes" _she said and then turned to leave the bathroom.

Luke watched her leave and then shut the door and got into the shower. He let the water beating down on his shoulders remove some of the tension that had been building up there for a few days now. He hated seeing her throw up in the morning and knowing there was nothing for the two of them to do about it other than ride it out. This had been the first morning she'd let him come near her while she was in the act, and he felt a little better that the least he could do was hold her hair back.

Lorelai sat on the side of the bed and laid back into Luke's pillow, face first, breathing in his scent and smiling. She wanted to go back to sleep and just sleep off the morning sickness, but she knew if she did that she'd never get up and go to work.

Work.

She hadn't been to the inn since she'd found out she was pregnant. She'd told Sookie she and Luke were still working things out and that she needed to take a couple more days off. So she had. That was the luxury of being your own boss. But she couldn't leave the entire Inn to Sookie and Michel for any longer, she'd be lucky if they still had guests left when she got back. She was nervous about going in. It was going to be close to impossible to keep it from Sookie that she was pregnant, but she and Luke had agreed to tell no one, excluding Rory, for a little while longer.

Rory.

There was another thought. They were going to tell her tonight after they got back from a "date" that Luke had planned. Lorelai knew she was going to insist that she wanted to come home and see her, but she'd some how convince her to wait until the weekend. Midterms were approaching for her and she needed as much study time as possible. She wouldn't have even considered telling her until after midterms, but the longer she waited the more it was killing her to talk to her and not tell her. So she'd asked Luke what he thought and he said to go ahead, but to make sure she knew not to tell anyone and that she would stay at school until the weekend.

Luke got out of the shower a few minutes later and found Lorelai snacking on some crackers in the kitchen.

_"Feeling better?" _he asked. She nodded.

_"I brushed my teeth with the toothbrush I left in Rory's bathroom…kiss." _She said standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss square on his lips. _"This kid is an early riser, guess it takes after its daddy" _she said, absently running her hand across her midsection. Luke smiled and put his hand on top of hers and kissed her forehead. He made himself some tea and a bagel and sat down across from Lorelai, who was eating her crackers still and drinking orange juice.

_"I think I'm getting used to this no caffeine thing_" she said, taking a sip of her orange juice.

_"Good, then maybe after the baby's born you'll continue in this healthy path."_ Luke teased, knowing full well that after the kid was born she'd go straight back to her coffee and Red Vines for breakfast. She made a face at him and he finished his bagel and put his dishes in the sink.

_"I've gotta go, we're still on for tonight right?" _he asked, pulling her up from her chair and putting his arms around her waist.

_"You bet." _She said smiling and putting her arms around his neck. _"You in a suit, I wouldn't miss it."_

He rolled his eyes and dipped his head down and kissed her soundly. They stood there for a good minute and a half in a complete lip lock, until he pulled back and pecked her on the lips and then on the nose and pulled away.

_"I'll see you at seven. Love you." _He called behind him as he left the house.

_"Love you too!" _she called as she went upstairs to get dressed for work.

She arrived at the Dragonfly thirty-five minutes later, ready to face the firing squad. She tugged on her jacket a little as she went inside, knowing it looked a little snug across her chest, even more than it used to.

_"Oh Lorelai, good. I thought you'd died. But of course since you "own" this humble money pit, you can just take time off whenever you want and leave the real work to the minions."_ She heard an irritated voice say behind her.

_"Michel, I missed you." _She called as she went into the kitchen. _"Sook!" _she called as she went in the kitchen. She was suddenly pummeled from behind by a very excited and very pregnant Sookie.

_"TELL ME EVERYTHING!" _she squealed as she hugged Lorelai and bounced up and down a little.

The day was spent gushing about how she and Luke had reconciled to Sookie, and not much else. Of course, she left out a few minor details and embellished some spots a little more, but by the grace of God she managed not to spill the beans, and Sookie hadn't noticed that Lorelai wasn't drinking coffee. Five-thirty rolled around and Lorelai made her exit from the inn and drove towards home to get ready for her "date" with Luke.

She had laid out a dress on her bed that morning after Luke had left to wear for the evening. It was her favorite "little black dress", but was appropriate for the cold temperatures outside. It was floor length, with a slit up to her thigh (okay, so maybe not that practical for the temperature) and a neckline that showed off her more voluptuous than usual cleavage. She had her hair in loose curls around her shoulders, and no jewelry other than the small diamond stud earrings Luke had given her the previous Christmas. She grabbed her purse and stuck her feet in her shoes (black stilettos, of course) as she heard the doorbell ring. She went as quickly as her shoes would allow down the stairs and opened the door to find Luke, dressed to the nines.

Luke's jaw almost hit the floor when she opened the door. He'd known she was going to dress very nicely, after all he had told her to and she would have anyway, but she looked amazing. His eyes traveled from the top of her head to her shoes, lingering only for a second longer on her cleavage. He'd known that her…assets…had been getting a bit larger due to the pregnancy, but this dress made her look like Pam Anderson…not that he minded. He glanced down at the bouquet of flowers he had in his hand and handed them to her.

When she saw his eyes linger at her chest, she smirked and resisted the urge to smack him. When he brought his eyes back up to meet hers, the intense blue of them showed nothing but love. He broke the contact to glance down at the flowers in his hand, and she followed his gaze. When she saw the flowers, her eyes welled up and she put her hand semi over her mouth. He was holding the biggest bouquet of long stemmed red roses that she'd ever seen in her life.

_"Luke…you didn't have to…" _she stammered, unsure of what to say exactly.

_"Hush. Yes I did."_ He said, taking one of her hands with his free one. He could see that she was trying to count them. "_There's 36. One for every time I found myself thinking that I'd rather be with you today. Of course, I would have gotten more because I thought about you all the time…but the florist only had 36."_

_"It's perfect." _She said, a single tear slipping down her cheek. She brushed it away and he handed her the flowers. She reached up and kissed him softly, and then went and put the flowers in a vase in the kitchen before they left.

They drove to Hartford in silence, Lorelai was still unsure as to where they were going, but she vaguely remembered some of the sites along the way. She got her answer when Luke stopped the truck in front of Sniffy's Tavern, the place where they'd shared their first official date so long ago.

_"Luke…"_she started, tears welling up again.

_"I thought it'd be the perfect place to celebrate. I realize we're both a little over dressed, but I changed my mind after I picked you up as to where I was going to take you. I hope the change of plans is okay." _He said, getting out and opening her door for her.

_"It's perfect." _She said, letting him slip his arm around her waist. He opened the door for her and when she stepped inside the place was almost empty. A few patrons lingered at various tables and a family of four sat near the front. The hostess took their name and said it'd be a five to ten minute wait because they'd have to finish cleaning the tables, but as soon as Maisie rounded the corner and caught sight of Luke she bustled them over to a more private corner booth.

_"Why Lucas Danes! I haven't seen you this dressed up since…well I don't think I've ever seen you this dressed up! And Lorelai, dear, you look just beautiful! Must be a special night for the two of you to get all dressed up and come out and see us! Buddy! Lucas and Lorelai are here!" _she called back into the kitchen. _"Bring the champagne!"_

_"No Maisie, no champagne."_ Luke said, catching Lorelai's eye and wondering how they were going to get out of this one. She mouthed "it's okay" to him and smiled. It couldn't hurt if the two of them knew, after all they didn't know anyone back in town really…and if they did they didn't keep in contact with them anymore.

_"Lucas, you have to have champagne on a date. I've told you that time and time again. Especially on a night as special as this one." _Maisie said. _"BUDDY!"_ she screamed.

_"No, Maisie. No champagne. Lorelai can't have any."_ Luke said, hoping Maisie would get the drift.

_"Why Lucas, of course she can. It's not nice to tell a woman what she can and can't have!"_ Maisie said, shooting Luke a dirty look.

_"No, Maisie, it's okay. I really can't have any tonight…or for the next 9 or so months actually."_ Lorelai said, smiling at the chatty old broad.

Maisie looked perplexed for a minute and then looked at Lorelai, and then Luke, and back to Lorelai again before her mouth dropped open and her hands clasped in front of her.

_"BUDDY! GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"_ she screamed, pulling Luke up out of his seat, and wrapping him in a huge hug and kissing him sloppily on the cheek.

_"Maisie! Get off the poor boy! He's on a date with her not you!" _Buddy said, pulling Maisie off of Luke when he walked up to witness the event.

_"It's okay Buddy."_ Lorelai said smiling.

_"Speak for yourself." _Luke said, wiping his cheek with his palm and rubbing it on his pants.

_"Now what was all that commotion about for crying out loud? I think you scared half the customers."_ Buddy demanded, hands on his hips.

Maisie had tears in her eyes as she smiled and clapped her hands. _"Well, looks like our little Lucas is gonna be a daddy!"_ Buddy stopped cold and looked at Luke.

_"This true young man?" _he asked.

_"Afraid so." _Luke said, smiling at Lorelai.

_"Well I'll be damned!" _Buddy said, pulling Luke up again and hugging him, slapping him on the back. Luke looked a little uncomfortable but hugged him back. Maisie, on the other hand, was busy pulling Lorelai up out of the booth as well.

_"I never would have guessed just looking at you! Gah, to be young again and look like that…I mean hell! I was young and I never looked like you do and I wasn't pregnant!"_ Maisie said, patting Lorelai's stomach, making her look just a little uncomfortable. Maisie smiled and hugged Lorelai, a gesture she was more used to so she hugged her back willingly.

After a few more minutes of shared excitement and hugs and the proclamation that their dinner was free, to which Luke protested, Maisie asked the inevitable question.

_"So, when's the wedding?"_

Luke looked at Lorelai, the color slowly draining from his face, begging her to answer that with his eyes. She swallowed hard and smiled at Maisie.

_"There's not going to be one, not for now. This wasn't exactly…planned…so we decided that it wasn't a good idea to rush into anything especially when there's going to be a child involved. If it happens, it happens. Which, judging from how things are going there's a good chance it will. But I didn't want him to marry me just because I got pregnant."_ Lorelai said glancing at Luke, who's color had returned slightly.

_"Well, I guess that makes sense." _Buddy said, breaking the silence that had hung in the air after Lorelai had finished. _"Come on Maisie, lets leave these two to their dinner. Congratulations you two, really." _He said, ushering Maisie off towards the kitchen. She smiled at the couple and then started animatedly talking to Buddy.

_"Dodged that bullet. That could have been a lot uglier"_ Lorelai said, reaching out and squeezing Luke's hand.

_"So you're sure you want to keep explaining it that way? You don't just want to go ahead and say we're getting married?" _Luke said, a little hopeful sounding.

_"Luke. I want to marry you, I do. Just not right now. I don't think it's right just to rush and get married just because you got me pregnant. It's not the smartest thing to do. Trust me. I love you, let's just wait a little while okay?"_ She said, pleading with him not to get upset.

_"If that's what you want, it's what I want."_ Luke said, covering her hand with his and squeezing it softly.

_"Good, now lets eat. I'm starved."_ Lorelai said, smiling and picking up her fork to delve into the spaghetti that had just arrived.


	6. Well, Here's The Thing

**Author's Note:** Oh my GOD guys, I'm so sorry this took so long. My life got hellaciously busy and I had no time, plus my poor little laptop is broken. But here's the 6th chapter...and I hope it doesn't disappoint you. I sat in rehearsal today and mapped out most of the rest of the story (atleast the next 10 or so chapters)...so hopefully they'll get written quickly and it wont take me like a MONTH to update again!

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**Well Here's The Thing**

They got home at around 9:30, much to Lorelai's protests of wanting to stay longer. Luke knew she was just trying to avoid telling Rory. He didn't really know why, but she was. Luke stopped the truck in front of the house and went around to let her out of her side.

_"Wait."_ She said, putting her hand on his. _"I can't go in yet."_

_"Yes you can. It's Rory. She's going to be through the moon about it, you know that."_ Luke said squeezing her hand and going around to let her out of her car. She stepped out of the truck and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. His arms slid around her waist and he rubbed small circles on the small of her back. He felt her hot tears on his shirt and pulled back and looked at her, concern clouding his eyes.

_"Lorelai. What's the matter. This can't just be because of Rory." _He said, wiping her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

_"No, it is. I just…I don't want her to be ashamed of me. Or worse, think I'm going to love her any less."_ She said, the tears still running freely down her cheeks.

_"Lorelai. It's Rory. She'd never be ashamed of you just because you're having a baby. And she's almost 21, she understands the whole little sibling thing even though she's never had one. She knows the deal Lorelai. Trust me."_ He said.

She looked up at him, wanting to believe him. She was just concerned because with Rory, you could assume some things because she was smart as hell, and acted so much older than her age. But this was one of those times she wasn't able to gage what her reaction was going to be.

_"Let's just go inside. You don't have to call her right now. Let's go inside and I'll make you some tea and we'll watch TV for a few minutes and you can calm down and then we'll call her okay?" _He asked, running his fingers through her hair. She nodded and let him lead her into the house.

He unlocked the door and she stepped through, shedding her coat at the door and then going upstairs to change into something more comfortable. If she had to talk to Rory, she was going to do it in something comfortable.

Luke went into the kitchen, and noticed he had a slight shake to his hand as he started her tea. He didn't want to let on to Lorelai that he was just as nervous, if not more, than she was for her to tell Rory. He steadied his hand and started the water on the stove for her tea, Chamomile, she needed to relax and that seemed to be the best. It was that or "Sleepy Time"…and the last thing that needed to happen when she was talking to Rory was for her to fall asleep and leave him to the talking. He heard her go into the living room a few minutes later and he finished off the tea and took it back into the living room where he found her sitting cross legged in some Strawberry Shortcake pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He handed her the tea and she scooted up next to him, letting herself just melt into his side.

Her hand fell across his leg a few minutes later, and he stroked her palm with his fingers as she finished her tea. She sighed and closed her eyes, he thought she'd fallen asleep when she sat up away from him.

_"If I'm going to do this, I need to do it now. I think I'm ready." _She said. He reached over on the end-table and handed her the phone.

She took the phone from him and stared at it in her lap.

_Oh God. I'm about to call my only child, well that she knows of, and confess to her that I screwed up…again. That I had wild semi-protected sex with Luke…our coffee boy…and now I'm pregnant. I know she's Rory…she's going to be amazing about it…but what if she's not. If it was me finding out at 21 that I was about to have a little sibling I'd be confused, and angry, and then happy. God I hope she's happy._

Lorelai took a deep breath and dialed Rory's cell number. She picked up on the third ring.

_"Hello?"_ a distracted sounding Rory asked.

_"Hey baby."_ Lorelai said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

_"Hey mom!" _she said, suddenly perking up a little bit.

_"You aren't busy are you?"_ she asked.

_"Not really, just studying." _Rory said, Lorelai heard her close a book and shift back on the bed. _"What're you up to?"_

_"Just got back from Sniffy's with Luke."_ She said smiling, and relaxing a little. _This might be easier than I thought. _

Luke saw her relax a little, and smile. Maybe this wouldn't be awful for her after all. It was Rory.

_"Aw, romantic. So what was the reason behind this little outing?"_ Rory asked.

Lorelai froze. Damn her for having such an observant kid. _"Funny you should ask, I was actually calling to talk to you about something important." _She said, trying to slow down her racing heart and trying not to throw up at the same time.

_"Mom? What's wrong? Are you okay?"_ Rory asked, after Lorelai had been silent for a few minutes. Lorelai could tell she was worried.

_"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just trying to figure out how to word this."_ Lorelai said, her eyes begging Luke for help.

_"Just tell her."_ He whispered, taking her free hand and squeezing it. She shifted over so she could lean against him while she talked.

_"Mom, you're starting to worry me. What's going on."_ Rory said after another silence.

_"Okay, well, here's the thing…Luke and I are…"_ Lorelai stammered.

_"Oh my God. He proposed didn't he?"_ Rory squealed.

_"No, no. He didn't. Well he did, but that's a different story…sort of."_ Lorelai said.

_"Mom, just say it. It's me." _Rory said, starting to get a little impatient. Lorelai was bracing herself for it. She couldn't just come right out and say it.

_"Well, you know when you were little you pretended that your teddy bear was your little sister, and you dressed it up in dresses and took it everywhere with us for like a year and a half because you couldn't leave her at home alone because that would be "kid a-bus?"_ Lorelai asked, hoping Rory would get the point.

_"Yeah, but how does that have anything to with anything?"_ Rory asked.

_It's late, sleep deprivation and Hemingway must be clouding her brain_. Lorelai thought to herself. She looked at Luke and he squeezed her hand again.

_"Let's just say that if you wanted to do the same thing now, in seven-ish months you wouldn't have to use a bear."_ Lorelai said quickly.

Rory was silent. She was absorbing what her mother had just said to her. It has slammed into her like an eighteen wheeler barreling down the road at 90 miles an hour.

_"Rory?"_ Lorelai asked, her voice shaking.

_"I'm here. Sorry. You did mean by that statement that you're pregnant right?"_ Rory asked, running her hand over her face and taking a swig of the coffee sitting on her nightstand. She still couldn't believe what was happening. She had wanted a sibling the entire time she was younger, and had never gotten one and she'd kinda given up on the thought of ever having one…and now here she was almost a Junior at Yale and she was getting that coveted little sibling.

_"Yeah, I guess that was my round about way of saying it." _Lorelai said, taking a breath finally, she still didn't know if Rory was okay with it or not. She'd yet to give an inclination one way or the other, and Lorelai was still on pins and needles waiting for her to even say something giving her the impression that she wasn't going to be okay with it.

_"With a baby."_ Rory stammered.

_"No, Rory with puppies. YES with a baby. What are you thinking babe? It's driving me crazy here."_ Lorelai said, fretting a little and gripping Luke's hand like it was life or death that she hold onto him.

_"I'm just trying to figure out when I can get there to see you!"_ Rory squealed, and Lorelai audibly let out a breath.

_"So you're okay with it all?" _She asked, a couple tears running down her face as she beamed at Luke and bounced up and down a little on the couch.

_"Mom. I'm over the moon. You just told me you're having a baby. WITH LUKE. Wait…it is with Luke right?" _Rory said, catching herself.

_"No, it's not with Luke." _Lorelai said, grinning wickedly at Luke and letting in a long pause in which Rory said nothing. _"God kid, you're so easy. YES it's with Luke."_

_"I'm coming home tomorrow. I have to see you."_ Rory said, squealing a little.

_"No you're not. Stay until this weekend. We'll all still be here then. We can celebrate when you get here. But you're not lying? You really are okay with all of this?"_ Lorelai said, pulling the mom card.

_"Yes mother. I'm gonna be a big sister!" _Rory yelped to her empty dorm room. Lorelai laughed and wiped her eyes.

_"You have no idea how nervous I was to tell you."_ Lorelai said.

_"Mom. That's ridiculous. You know me."_ Rory retorted.

_"I know, but it's like saying…whoops look at what I did after preaching to you about safe sex and making all those Trojan Man jokes." _Lorelai said, covering her face with her hands.

_"I said I was excited mom, that was not your cue to start to tell me about your sex life…that's something I could do without."_ Rory said scrunching her face into an "ew" face.

Luke took that statement as his cue to get up. He slid off the couch and went upstairs to change. He figured the Lorelais needed some time to talk amongst themselves. He slipped out of the suit he'd been wearing and into the pajamas he'd brought over the day before. He sat on the edge of the bed and flipped on the TV and randomly started browsing for something decent to watch. He found a basketball game that somewhat held his attention and slipped under the covers to watch until Lorelai got off the phone. He was glad she was so happy about the way Rory was reacting to it all. He knew that she would be fine with it. After all, he had told her that. But now seeing Lorelai really and truly happy about the baby, made him even more through the roof about the entire situation. He smiled as he watched Georgia cream Georgia Tech while he waited for Lorelai to come to bed. The game was almost over when he heard her come in. He rolled over and looked at the door, she was smiling but he could tell she'd been crying again. He reached out a hand and she crossed the room and crawled into bed with him.

She knew she looked like crap, but she didn't care, and she knew Luke didn't either. She wiped her eyes as she went up the stairs, not wanting him to know she had been crying again. After he'd left the room she and Rory got down to the nitty gritty. She'd poured everything that had happened in the past two weeks out to Rory, who listened and like always gave her better advice than she could get from any of her friends. It was the first time she'd told anyone that she'd been scared out of her mind when she saw the pink stick, even more scared than she had been when she'd found out she was pregnant with Rory. Back then she could blame it on being a child and not knowing better, but now she was fully grown and worried about what people would think. Rory was amazing, she was the best friend any girl could want and the best kid any parent would want. Lucky for Lorelai, she had her as both. She hoped that the relationship with this baby would be just as strong, and even more so because this kid would have a dad around.

_Christopher._

She hadn't even thought about him, she supposed he'd find out eventually but she wasn't sure. This thought stopped her dead in her tracks. She wasn't sure if she could tell him, but she wasn't sure if she couldn't. It wouldn't be fair to him for her not to, and then for him to see her really pregnant or with a baby.

Then she caught herself. Why was she so worried about Christopher? He didn't matter anymore. After the fiasco at her parent's renewal service she hadn't spoken more than two words to him since the night she let him have it and severed all ties with him, other than Rory of course. She still couldn't believe that he was responsible for almost driving Luke out of her life. The two months they'd been apart during that time was the worst time of her life, and when they'd broken up the last time even though it was her doing it was almost as bad. She didn't care about Christopher anymore, in any way. She was Switzerland where he was concerned.

She started walking again and stood in the doorway watching Luke watch the game, he looked so comfortable.

_And so sexy with his shirt off…_she added to herself. He heard her shift her weight and looked over at the doorframe. She knew from the way he looked at her that he knew she'd been crying again. He held a hand to her and she crossed the room, and slipped under the covers and pressed herself against him, burying her face in his chest and breathing in the scent that was purely him.

_He smells like the diner and ivory soap._

_She smells like coffee and coconut._

They just lay there together, her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around her, as if he was trying to protect her and their unborn child from the evils of the world. She felt so safe, and he felt like he finally had a family again.

That was a new thought to Luke. He'd kind of adopted Lorelai and Rory as his family a long time ago, and he'd never really questioned that decision. After losing his family, well except for Liz, a long time ago it seemed natural to him. But the were never "really" his family…but now they would be. He was going to have his own family and have three people in it that would love him no matter what. That thought blew his mind.

Lorelai ran her hand over his arm and looked up at him, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was lost in thought.

_"Hey, what are you thinking about?"_ She asked, running her hand across his chest.

He looked down at her and kissed her forehead. _"That for the first time since I was really young, I'm going to have a family again."_ He said after a minute of trying to figure out the right words, and how to say them without falling apart like he wanted to.

Lorelai bit her lip and a tear ran down her cheek and made a small puddle on his chest. She couldn't believe that she had found a man as perfect as him, and that it'd taken her so long to find him.

_"We've always been your family Luke. Rory's never looked at Christopher like she looks at you, as a dad I mean. You're the one that's been there. We've always been like an old married couple. This baby just makes it official. You're never getting rid of us now."_ She said smiling at him. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips and then on both eyelids and the tip of her nose before tightening his embrace around her and letting himself drift off to sleep.


	7. Play It Again, Sam

**A/N: Oh my GOD guys I am so sorry. This chapter just took FOREVER to get out for some reason. I hope you like it. The inspiration for the end of it came today during my rehearsal (whoops, bad Stage Manager not paying attention!), so I hope you like it! I'm working on the next chapter right now, and like I said, I'll get more written faster once I get my laptop back. Damn the people at HP. DAMN THEM ALL!**

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**Play It Again, Sam**

_"I don't know how you get me to agree to this."_ Luke grumbled as he spread out a blanket on the grass to the right of the gazebo in the middle of town.

_"Because I'm having your baby and you want to do anything to pacify me._" Lorelai said, plopping down on the blanket and smiling up at him. She'd taken a long lunch from work and brought a picnic basket she'd had Sookie make for her during the downtime between breakfast and had spent a good twenty minutes in the diner convincing Luke to take the next hour and a half off and come eat with her.

_"Please?"_ she had said, pouting her signature pout and unobtrusively resting one hand on her abdomen and subtly glancing down at it and back up at him. With that one look he'd surrendered, as he so often did.

Now here they were sitting on a blanket in the middle of town and Lorelai was unloading an inane amount of food from a basket that at this point, didn't appear to have a bottom to Luke. She kept pulling out more and more food, like the thing was the blasted bag from Mary Poppins.

Lorelai spread out the impressive spread of food Sookie had thrown together. Sandwiches and salads and all kinds of treats lay all over the blanket by the time she was done, and she looked up at Luke, eyes shining, as she pulled out a bottle of sparkling white grape juice and two champagne flutes.

_"Since we can't have the real stuff, at least I can't, and you hate it anyway. I figured this was the next best thing."_ Lorelai said, motioning for Luke to open it and pour it into the glasses. He rolled his eyes and did as he was told, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He handed Lorelai her flute of grape juice and she raised it in toast form.

_"To new beginnings, adventures, and swollen ankles"_ She said, clinking her glass with his before taking a sip and making a face. Luke mimicked the same face after taking a sip of his own.

"_I think this is worse than the real stuff."_ He said, eloquently wiping his tongue on a napkin. Lorelai nodded and took a bite out of a carrot stick to get the taste out of her mouth.

_"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you eat anything even remotely healthy without being commanded to do so_." Luke said, smiling smugly and crossing his arms.

_"Oh don't even start. Or I know someone who won't be getting any tonight."_ Lorelai said, crossing her arms and staring him down. That comment made him cave, and he smiled and she scooted closer to him. They ate in amicable silence, only because what they really wanted to talk about couldn't be talked about in a town where walls have ears. And speaking of ears, the two of them had spied Ms. Patty lurking by a tree near by waiting for something to happen so the gossip could start flying.

An hour later they had finished their salads, and main courses and Lorelai was nibbling a Double Chocolate cookie and Luke was finishing off a piece of pound cake that Lorelai had forced on him assuring him it was the least of the evils spread before him. They were sitting comfortably, in what Lorelai had always called "the comfy way". She was situated leaning against his chest with her body between his legs. For the longest time he'd teased her about it being her favorite way to sit and watch TV and such because she was such a sexual person. She'd never admit it, but that really was partly it, but it also had to do with she felt protected that way.

He finished his cake and wrapped his arms around her middle as she still nibbled away at the cookie. He'd never seen her take so long to eat a cookie, and he was even more astounded when she sat it down and laced her fingers with his and held his arms around her.

"_I don't think I've ever seen you not finish a cookie"_ He said, in all honesty.

"_Well, it doesn't want chocolate right now…and to avoid a rather violent puking episode like I had this morning when I tried to eat an orange and it didn't want me to…I'll just stop eating it now." _She said, leaning her head back on his shoulder.

"_Maybe this kid will take after me after all."_ Luke said.

"_Maybe. But like I said, it didn't like the orange…at all."_ Lorelai said, wincing at the memory of being hunched over the toilet in the bathroom off of her office at the inn and convincing Sookie it was a bug she'd been trying to kick for a couple days and that she'd be fine.

_"Well there's still hope for vegetables_." Luke said, laughing at little and kissing her temple. She smiled and closed her eyes and let the warmth of the spring sunshine hit her face.

He watched her close her eyes and bask in the sun. He watched the mid-day sunlight dancing across her cheeks that were turning a rosy pink from the warmth, and through her multi-faceted brunette hair. She reached a hand up and idly twirled the ends of her hair with one hand while she was lost in thought and letting him protect her from the world around them while she did so.

_**All the times I have sat and stared,**_

_**As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair**_

He ran his free hand up and down her arm, which she let fall back to her side and smiled as she felt his feather light touch and even though it was the smallest possible touch, it sent shivers through her entire body.

He loves it when she just sits there, silently and plays with her hair, absently running her fingers through it as she's lost in thought or mesmerized by a movie. Their hands eventually find their way back to each other and their fingers entwine together as their hands rest on Lorelai's thigh.

_"What are you thinking about?"_ Luke whispered in her ear, jolting her from her day dream.

_"Just you, me, us."_ She replied honestly. _"I kinda got lost in a world colored with pink and blue."_

"_I do it all the time, you don't have to explain yourself to me," _he said, kissing the top of her head gently.

_"I should let you get back to work. We're still on for a movie tonight right?"_ she asked, scooting away from him and turning to face him.

_"I guess so. I still don't get what's so great about this movie."_ Luke said, pulling his legs up and starting to clean up the picnic mess.

_"It's just funny, and random, that's all. I mean, an African tribe's world gets turned upside down by a coke bottle."_ Lorelai said, as she helped clean up.

_"Funny and random, seems to me I know a person like that."_ He said, smiling and looking up at her.

_"Ha ha, very funny." _She said, leaning over and leaving a lingering kiss on his lips. They finished cleaning up and they walked back towards the diner, hand in hand and Luke carrying the picnic basket.

_"Hey doll!"_ Lorelai heard Patty call after leaving her place behind a bush. _"You two look just like a couple out of the 50s, coming back from a picnic and necking in the park."_

_"We weren't necking Patty._" Luke said, a small growl present in his voice. Lorelai poked him in the side with her elbow.

_"Thanks Patty. I convinced him to go on a picnic with me because we haven't seen much of each other lately."_ Lorelai said.

_That's a lie. She's gonna know that's a lie and then she's going to ask all kinds of dumb questions and the whole town will know she's pregnant before we know it. _Luke thought, his grip tightening on Lorelai's arm.

"_Well that's nice honey, it sure is a breath of fresh air for this town to see you two together and happy again."_ She said, scurrying off in the other direction.

_"Skirted disaster with that one."_ Lorelai said, leaning into Luke's side.

_"Barely. I should get back inside."_ Luke said, turning so she was leaning into his chest. "_We're still on for tonight right?"_ He asked, snaking his arms around her waist.

_"But of course. You voluntarily going to a movie? I wouldn't miss it. I should be home by 6, and the theatre is showing Casablanca at 7."_ She said looking up at him, blue eyes shining with excitement. Luke rolled his eyes and she grinned at his unenthusiastic-ness. She loved how he would do anything for her without question, most of the time. Of course sometimes he gave her a little bit of lip when it came to her eating habits, but it was never serious.

She turned around and breathed in the scent that was distinctly him before looking up at him and smiling.

_"Kiss."_ She said raising up on her tiptoes a little. Their lips brushed together softly, sparks flying between the two of them. Even the smallest touch between the two of them ignited a fire in them, and they both loved that. It solidified that everything they were doing was right. She cupped his face with her hands and his arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him, letting them meld into one person. They pulled apart, and he rested his forehead against hers and they stared into each others eyes.

_"I love you. I'll pick you up at 6:30."_ He said

_"I love you too."_ She said, she laughed as he nuzzled her nose, something he normally only did when they were in the privacy of their own home.

_Our home. Wow, I don't think I've ever said that before, it just kind of slipped, but it seems logical. That is the next step after all. Maybe it's still too soon, but maybe not. I'll have to talk to him about it at some point soon._

Lorelai got in her car and gave one last fleeting look to the diner before driving over to the inn. She gave a coy wave to Luke as he went inside and set about her merry way. Fifteen minutes later she'd arrived at the inn and was sitting in the kitchen with Sookie.

"_So how are you?"_ Lorelai asked Sookie, who was so big with her third kid she could barely reach the counters.

_"Ready to pop it feels like. I'm glad I didn't end up on bed rest this time, last time I was ready to kill myself by the time Beth was born. But the doctor said it shouldn't be too long now. But I refuse to stop working until I have to."_ Sookie said.

_"Which as we have determined is this coming Monday Sook, I mean it." _Lorelai said.

_"I know, I know. Monday is it."_ Sookie said, reaching over to pick up a whisk. _"So tell me about you and Luke, everyone's been talking about how touchy feely you guys have been lately. Babette was in here for lunch earlier and informed me of all the goings on at the picnic you guys had. I'm guessing the food I made you was a success."_

_"Very much so. Nothing happened, we sat, ate, talked, kissed a little and that was about it."_ Lorelai said.

_"Babette said that Patty said you didn't finish cookies. Are you sick?"_ Sookie asked.

_"No, I'm not. I just wasn't in the mood for a cookie."_ Lorelai said, praying Sookie wouldn't pursue the question with a follow up. She didn't, and Lorelai exhaled loudly.

The day went off without a hitch, Lorelai spent most of her time in the office or behind the front desk taking reservations and reading a parenting magazine when no one was looking. Or so she thought.

_"Lorelai…what are you reading?"_ Sookie asked from over her shoulder making her jump a mile.

_"Nothing…"_ Lorelai said sitting on the magazine. Sookie reached over and pulled it out from under Lorelai's butt and gasped a little and smiled.

_"Does this mean what I think it means?"_ Sookie asked, bouncing a little.

_"No Sookie, look around. It's either this or Golf Pro. The reading material here is very slim, I should invest on a Cosmo subscription for the inn. Then maybe I could be reading up on how to "Spice up my Sex Life"." _Lorelai said, inwardly panicking but attempting to keep a calm exterior on the outside.

_"Good point. I guess I didn't notice…Parenting and Baby magazines are the only things I read these days. I miss the days of Cosmo and Vogue." _Sookie said, sighing into her hands.

_"You'll get those day back soon Sook. I promise."_ Lorelai said, then checking the clock. _"Shit. Luke is picking me up in a half hour. I have to go. Leave before 7:30 okay Sook? I have the night guys coming in early so that you can go home."_

Sookie promised and Lorelai grabbed her purse and keys and drove as quickly as possible without being reckless towards the house. She threw the car in park and hurried inside to change before Luke got there. She barely had time to throw on a pair of jeans and a dark purple sweater before he was at the door. She yelled for him to come in and she touched up her makeup and hair before hurrying downstairs.

Luke barely had a second to think before Lorelai ran into him and threw her arms around him. He stumbled backwards a few steps and once he'd regained his composure and balance he wrapped his arms around her, reciprocating the hug.

_"Well, hello to you too." _He said

_"It's been a long day, I'm ready for the movie. I need to chill."_ Lorelai said, bouncing a little. Luke put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from bouncing up and down. He gave her a quick peck and she grabbed her purse and scooted out the door, ready to get going. They walked along, hand in hand, towards the movie theatre in town. He'd wanted to drive but she said she needed the exercise, and who was he to deny her exercise?

They got to the theatre a few minutes before the movie started, but with just enough time for Lorelai to get popcorn, red vines, gummy bears, and a soda. Luke had secured them a seat on the couch, right behind Kirk and Lulu, to the left and rear of Babette and Morey, and to the right of Ms. Patty and her current beau. He knew they'd be watched the entire time and that didn't bother him, but it didn't stop him from hoping that the group of teenagers in front of them would do something more distracting.

The opening song played, and the opening credits rolled, and Lorelai situated herself on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head on his shoulder, relaxing into the couch and gluing her eyes to the screen.

_I wonder if he remembers. Probably not. I mean, why would I expect him to remember that we'd been watching this movie the first time we said "I love you". I remember laying there, in his arms, warm and happy and then rolling over as the credits rolled and staring at him. Studying his face intently. He asked what I was thinking about and I said 'you'. He gave me the look that only he can give, and I reached up a little and kissed him. Nothing heated like we always do, but just a soft, sensual kiss that only lasted about ten seconds. I pulled back and we rested forehead to forehead, nose to nose, and then I said it. I said it first. It still blows my mind but I did. I whispered it just loud enough for him to hear, and no one else. Not that there was anyone else to hear me say it, but I wanted it to be private, just me and him. I remember the way everything about him, well almost everything, softened, and he held my gaze for a few seconds that seemed to last years. I was so afraid he wasn't going to say it back or that I'd said it too soon…and then he did, just as softly as I had said it. He said it too. I'd said I love you to Christopher, and to Max…but it'd never felt the way it did when I said it to him. That's when I knew. I just…knew._

_I bet she remembers this was the movie we were watching when we said 'I love you'. I'd always hated this movie until that night. She'd spent the night calling me Humphrey, and insisted on me calling her Ingrid. I'd done it once and it'd delighted the hell out of her. The movie was almost over when she turned over in my arms and stared at me. It made me so uncomfortable, and I'd finally asked what she was thinking about, trying vehemently to get her to stop staring at me. She said 'you' and my heart melted. I'd been in love with this woman for 8 years, and we were laying on her couch, a couple, and she was saying that she was thinking about me while watching one of her most beloved movies of all time. She leaned up a little and kissed me, one of those soft but mind blowing kisses, leaving you breathless for more. I sat there trying to figure out how to say exactly what I felt, and by the time I realized the only words I had to say were 'I love you'…those exact words were coming out of her mouth. She'd beaten me to the punch in such a typical Lorelai way. She whispered it just loud enough for me to hear, as if we were standing in a crowd of people and she only wanted me to hear it. I stared back at her, and when I caught a small glimmer of fear cross her eyes I'd realized I'd been silent too long and said it back. It felt amazing, I'd never felt like that before. And now here we are, sitting here watching this movie again, for the first time since then, and she's carrying our child and we're the only ones who know. Kind of like that night, no one else knew what we'd said. Only us. _

Lorelai shifted so that she was seated more sideways than she had been, and his arm slid around her waist and laced with hers. They watched the movie, but not completely. They were both completely lost in thought and in each other. Luke slowly rubbed his finger up and down the ribbing of her sweater beneath his hand. She shivered and smiled. She shifted so their hands were more over her midsection, knowing they were both thinking about the same thing. He kept running his finger up and down those two rows of ribbing and Lorelai gently squeezed his hand. She looked up at him upside down and he smiled and leaned over and kissed her softly and upside down.

_"I love you"_ he whispered into her lips.

_"I love you too." _She whispered back, _"You did remember."_ She said, smiling, her eyes tearing a little.

"_How could I forget the day my old life ended and this wonderful new one began?" _He said back. A tear slid down her cheek and he brushed it away with his hand. She burrowed into his chest and they watched the rest of the movie until the credits finally rolled. Lorelai stood up and extended a hand to pull Luke up off the couch, he stood up and slid his arm around her waist and they walked out into the crisp air together, almost joined at the hip. She stopped him in the middle of the street and turned to face him.

_"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time." _She said, purring a little. He leaned in and kissed her, their lips melding together. She tugged a little on his lower lip as she sucked it into her mouth, knowing full well that that one small act drove him crazy. He slid his tongue along the lower edge of her top lip and she readily opened to let it in. Their tongues swirled together, dancing an intricate dance together and their bodies melding together right there in the middle of the street. Her hands crept up, one in his hair and one on his chest, and his held her pressed against him on the small of her back.

They pulled apart and she blushed and looked down like some shy teenager who'd just been necking for the first time. He tilted her head up and smiled.

_"Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."_ He said. She giggled and he slid his arm back around her waist as they walked towards the house.

_"Will you always be my Humphrey?" _She asked him, later that night as they lay in bed, completely exhausted from both the day and the activities that had just occurred in that bed.

_"As long as you'll be my Ingrid, and we don't end up the way Rick and Ilsa did." _He replied, kissing her on top of the head.

The two of them fell asleep lost in each other, both dreaming in black and white.


	8. Porch Swing Confessionals

**A/N: Wow. Guys. I am SO sorry it's taking me so long to update this! I've had MAJOR MAJOR writers block and been hella busy, but now that this chapter is out of the way I think I can get to the good stuff quickly! Hope you enjoy and leave me lots of fun reviews!**

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Porch Swing Confessionals  
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Lorelai woke up the next morning groggy, nauseated, and definitely alone. She noticed the lack of Luke's body next to her and was instantly sad. She huffed out a breath and stared at the ceiling, knowing the minute she moved she would be running for the toilet post haste. She turned her head slowly towards the clock. 9:30. She was late, and she really could care less.

_Pregnancy is turning me into a slacker._

She gingerly sat up, trying not to wake the morning sickness fairies and moved the covers off of her legs. She stood up and slowly took two steps towards the closet.

_Okay so far, so good. Three more feet to the closet, and I'll have made it further than yesterday. Slowly…don't rush, no big deal, you just have to get dressed. Almost…there. Shit._

She had made it two steps from the closet before she whirled around on her heels, making her nausea worse, and sprinted for the bathroom, she slid down the hall in her socks and barely made it to the bathroom before the meager contents of her stomach were displayed right there in front of her in the bright blue of the toilet water.

She heaved for the standard 30 minutes and then sat back against the wall, sweating, gasping and feeling just downright disgusting.

"You are going to be the death of me child."She said, patting her stomach. A few minutes later she'd managed to heft herself up off the floor and into the shower. Sometimes the warm water made her feel better, this was not one of those mornings. After two brief dry heaving episodes she had managed to shower and stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in Luke's huge blue terry cloth robe and smelling like Brilliant Brunette and Vanilla Bean Noel, two scents she had been able to withstand thus far.

She shuffled down the stairs in the robe and picked up the phone to call Sookie to tell her she'd be late.

_"Hey Sook, it's me. I'm gonna be late today, I should be in by 11 or so but I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry. If you need me before then call me, love ya! Bye!" _she chattered into the phone.

She hung up the phone and went into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Luke had left her a note on the table.

_He's so sweet. _

She read the note and smiled, holding one hand on her stomach.

_Breakfast for the love of my life. You two be good today, I'll see you tonight. I love you.-L_

She nibbled on her muffin as she carried it and the tea he'd left her back upstairs so she could get dressed. She sat her tea on the dresser and pulled clothes out of the closet and proceeded to get ready for the day. She pulled on a pair of jeans and smiled to herself as she noticed they were a little snugger than normal. She pulled out a silky crème colored blouse and laid it on the bed and fished around for a pair of boots and her long tan coat.

She stood in the bathroom finishing straightening her hair with one hand and putting on lip gloss with the other.

_I am the queen of multi-tasking._ She thought as she put down the lip gloss and put on mascara. She capped the mascara and put down the straightener and checked her appearance before scampering back into her room and putting the rest of her clothes and her shoes on.

Nausea completely subsided; she traipsed out the front door feeling like a million bucks.

_Rory's coming today._

The thought hit her like a mack truck. She'd forgotten about the fact that Rory was coming today.

_I'm excited…but…what if…aaagh. Rory's coming. She hasn't seen me like this yet, not that there's all that much to see but she of all people will notice that I'm a little bigger…and that's a good thing. Deep breath. She's Rory, not your mother. Oh God…_

Lorelai's hands gripped the steering wheel in a white knuckled death grip. She hadn't even fathomed the thought of telling her parents.

_Don't worry about it now, just go to work and then go out with Rory. That's it. That's your day. Breathe Lorelai, breathe._

She pulled into the driveway of The Dragonfly and a wave of nausea hit her again. She slammed the Jeep into park and ran inside, brushing past Michel and to the bathroom next to her office, where she promptly expelled the contents of her stomach.

_"Lorelai?"_ Sookie's voice said from the other side of the door, knocking softly. Lorelai washed her hands and opened the door, feigning a smile.

_"You okay?" _Sookie asked, noticing Lorelai's paled face and slightly clammy look.

_"I'm fine. Just a bug, Luke thinks it's something I ate." _Lorelai said, straightening her shirt and brushing off her pants.

_"You look a little pale, maybe you should just go home and sleep."_ Sookie said, touching the back of her hand to Lorelai's forehead.

_"Thanks Sook, but I'll be fine, I promise." _Lorelai assured her as she walked out to the front desk to start the day.

After an hour the place settled into it's mid-day lull as far as the phone and sign-in went so Lorelai found herself sitting on a stool with her chin propped up on her hands staring out the window in front of her imagining.

She envisioned what her life would be like in less than a year. She saw herself and Luke sitting on a porch swing, a little bundle of purple in Luke's arms, her head on his shoulder playing with a tiny socked foot that stuck out of the end of the blanket. They looked so happy.

_"Hey, Daydream Believer. Whatcha thinking about? You're smiling awfully big."_ She heard Sookie say behind her, snapping her out of her daydream.

_"Rory's coming home tonight, just making plans in my head."_ Lorelai lied, badly.

_"Right…it was about Luke wasn't it?" _Sookie asked, making Lorelai blush. _"Ha. I knew it! It was dirty too, you can't fool me."_

_"You got me." _She lied miserably. If Sookie had been in her right mind, which due to the pregnancy she often wasn't, she would have seen right through it but instead she smiled her patented Sookie smile and pointed at her and laughed.

_"Is everything ready for you to go?" _Lorelai asked, knowing full well it wasn't.

_"Almost…"_ Sookie said, taking her turn in the whole lying miserably thing.

Lorelai gave her a look and she scooted as fast as her very pregnant legs could scoot back into the kitchen. Lorelai looked after her and smiled, she'd probably be that big eventually.

_God, so this is what it feels like. To be pregnant, happy, and in love. Sure I feel like crap every now and then, but this is what it feels like. I missed out on this the first time, not again._

The diner was hellaciously busy, and Luke felt like a chicken with his head cut off filling orders. Lane was in bed with the flu, and Caesar was proving his full potential and slacking off, so Luke was picking up the slack. Some of the customers had managed to drive him up to the "really pissed off" level that he only got to on occasion. Finally at about 4:30 the rush had slacked and now only Kirk, Patty, and some tourists were sitting at their tables, drinking coffee and chatting idly. Luke picked up a rag and leaned against the counter and wiped it down, taking a little bit of weight off his already tired feet. In the few minutes he'd had to stop and take a breath, whether it be a small lull in orders or in the 5 minutes he took to go to the bathroom and take some aspirin, he'd found himself daydreaming about their future. Not that he was daydreaming about it while he was actually peeing, but he'd been thinking about it all the rest of the time.

A customer with a little girl in a stroller and a boy, who looked about 3 at Luke's best guess, came in and had lunch and Luke had been surprisingly cheerful to them, to the surprise of the rest of the diner patrons.

He'd caught himself smiling more than usual today, and it felt good.

The bells jingled above the door a few minutes later, and he looked up from where he'd been standing filling the coffee maker. He knew without turning around that it was Lorelai.

_"No."_ he said

_"But I didn't even ask yet!" _She whined. _"How'd you know it was me?"_ she added as an after thought.

_"Still. No." _He repeated. He leaned over the counter and gave her a peck hello. _"Shouldn't Rory be here soon?" _

_"She had a meeting for the paper until 5, so she'll be here around 7 which will give us plenty of time to get ready to go out."_ She said, adjusting a little on the seat.

_"Nervous?"_ He asked.

_"No."_ She lied. However, Luke could see right through her lies unlike Sookie. He reached out and covered her hand with his.

_"You'll be fine." _He said, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. She smiled appreciatively and stole a glance at the donut tray and then looked back at Luke.

_"One. We don't wan to spoil dinner. Rory would not approve."_ Luke said, uncovering the donuts and getting her out one with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

She took the donut and happily picked at it and glanced up in surprise when Luke sat a big glass of milk in front of her.

_"Don't even start. Drink it."_ He said shooting her a look. She pouted, but smiled when he stuck a crazy straw in it. _"Crazy lady."_

_"Yeah, but you love me."_ She said as she blew bubbles in the milk. Luke opened his mouth to protest and then shook his head, knowing any efforts would be futile.

Luke finished up what he was doing and yelled to Caesar he was going upstairs and to lock up after he closed.

_"I always do."_ Caesar yelled back. Luke rolled his eyes and walked around the counter.

_"I'll pick you guys up at 8:30. Be ready." _He said, Lorelai snuggling into him and resting her cheek on his shoulder.

_"And by 8:30 you mean…"_ Lorelai questioned

_"8:45."_ He answered, rolling his eyes again.

_"Good boy."_ She said reaching up and patting him on the head and then ruffling his hair. She leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. She picked up her purse off the floor and left the diner headed home. Luke turned and went upstairs to get ready.

_I have no idea what to wear to this. What do you wear on a dinner date with your pregnant girlfriend and her 21 year old daughter for the first time after the daughter has found out the girlfriend is pregnant? This should not be this difficult. God, so this is how a woman feels picking out clothes. My entire wardrobe is on the bed…and nothing looks right. I fucking hate getting dressed up_.

Luke was in a grumbly mood the entire time he was getting ready. He didn't know why either, he was a little bit nervous about going out with Rory yes, but not overly so. He'd gone out with the two of them on many occasions. The only difference this time was that it was the first time he'd gone out with them with Lorelai being pregnant, but he was sure it wouldn't be the last time. He'd never been picky about what he wore, but he felt like it had to be "just right" tonight, and he'd spent a half hour standing in front of his closet in nothing but boxers and socks rummaging through his clothes. If Lorelai had seen him she would have mocked him for ages about him being such a woman. He'd showered and shaved before getting dressed and then watched TV for a half hour before going to Lorelai's, and he knew even before he got there that the two of them wouldn't be ready.

Lorelai had taken an exceptional shower, and being an exceptional shower it went on longer than it should have, but she didn't care. Rory had seen her in nothing but a towel more times than she could count, and this evening would be no exception.

_"Mom?"_ she heard Rory call from the front door.

_"Naked!"_ she yelled back. She could almost hear Rory cringe.

_"You're alone right?"_ Rory called back tentatively

_"Am I ever?"_ Lorelai called. "_Give me a few minutes to get clothed. I'm almost ready."_

_"Yeah right, I need to change anyway."_ Rory called back, her voice sounding further away and Lorelai knew she'd gone into her room to change.

She pulled a pair of black pants out of her closet and stepped into them, noting how they were snugger than they had been last time, almost to the point of them not fitting and she smiled. From the side there was a noticeable pooch if you were really looking for it, and she was. Luke had noticed it too. She pulled a white button up out of her closet and put it on the bed to iron.

She went into the bathroom and curled her hair the way Luke likes it, and pinned part of it back in a messy half up type deal. She did her makeup like always, nothing new there except for she had a new sparkly pink lip gloss on top of her normal one that she'd bought at the drug store the day before.

Back in her room a few minutes later she ironed her shirt on the small ironing board she sat on her bed and then put her shirt on and pulled a vibrant, but not neon or "bright", pink sweater on over the button up so that the collar and cuffs stuck out of the scoop neck and sleeves. The sweater hugged her just right so that you could see, but not see the bump, and that made her happy. She picked up her shoes and then scampered down the stairs, running pell-mill into Rory, who'd begun her scamper up the stairs, halfway down.

They squealed and hugged each other the rest of the way back down the stairs, and when both had their feet firmly planted on the floor Rory pulled back and took a good long look at her mom.

"_Just to speed this process along…"_ Lorelai said, turning sideways and tugging on the sides of her sweater a little to stretch it across her stomach. Rory gasped, squealed and jumped on her mom again, hugging her within an inch of her life.

"_Easy killer. In order for me to have the baby I have to be alive. Funny how that works."_ She said pulling back from Rory, who's beaming smile matched the one Lorelai was wearing. After consulting the Tinkerbelle clock that sat on the desk they confirmed that they had less than ten minutes before Luke was to arrive, so they promptly sat down and started firing away without missing a beat.

Rory wanted to know everything. Lorelai filled her in on all the doctors visits so far, there had only been the one, and dragged her into the kitchen to show her the sonogram picture. It wasn't long after that Luke showed up and they were on their way to the restaurant in Hartford.

"_It wouldn't be a car trip without…"_ Rory said fishing around in her purse.

Lorelai squealed and shouted in unison with Rory, _"Ror and Lore's Car Jams!"_ as Rory produced a hot pink CD from her purse. Lorelai happily popped it in and Luke rolled his eyes and focused on driving while the two of them jammed out to Highway To Hell.

It wasn't until he'd endured "Secret Agent Man", "Manic Monday" and "If She Knew What She Wants" that a song came on that he actually knew. He hummed along with the intro and Lorelai feigned shock at his knowing the song, and then turned to look at Rory to yell again.

"_Spring Break '92!"_ they chorused before launching into "Escape".

"_If you like pina coladas! And getting caught in the rain! If you're not into yoga! If you have half a brain!"_ They sang loudly and off key. After the song was over Luke looked at Lorelai quizzically.

"_What happened Spring Break '92?"_ He asked, frightened to hear the answer.

"_I forget you haven't seen as many movies as me. Remind me to rent The Sweetest Thing when we get home. I think you'll get a big kick out of the penis song…"_ Lorelai said, making both Luke AND Rory blush.

Dinner went smoothly, most of the talk was about the baby and preparations they'd been making. Rory eventually hit the question Luke and Lorelai had both been anticipating.

"_So have you thought about names?"_ she asked. Lorelai smiled at Luke. They had. When they'd discussed names it hadn't been as hard as it was for a lot of couples. They agreed on names easily and both liked the same names. It was quite scary actually.

"_We've got a couple options. Right now my favorite girl name is Caroline and Luke's is Paige for a girl, and for a boy we're pretty much set on Parker." _Lorelai said, shivering slightly. It was the first time they'd told anyone the names they'd considered, and only the second time they'd voiced them out loud.

Rory seemed happy with those names, and content for the reasons behind them. They spent desert talking about Yale, Logan and Paris. The drive back was in amicable silence listening to the easy listening station, much to the protests of Lorelai and Rory but they'd been too full to REALLY protest so they'd given into him easily and though neither one of them would admit it, they didn't mind the music all that much.

Luke pulled the Jeep into the driveway and they all exited the car. Luke went on ahead inside and Lorelai and Rory stayed on the porch in the swing to talk some more.

"_I'll be in soon."_ She promised, giving him a quick kiss.

"_Wear this. It's cold. We don't need you getting sick."_ He said wrapping his jacket around her arms and squeezing her shoulders. She beamed up at him and went back to the swing where Rory had taken a seat.

She sat down and crossed her legs under herself so she could look at Rory.

_"What's on your mind kid?"_ she asked

_"Nothing really."_ Rory said

_"You can't lie to me. Spill it kid."_ Lorelai said, pulling Rory closer to her.

Rory felt like a five year old, but laid her head in Lorelai's lap anyway. Lorelai played with her dark hair as she began to vocalize what had been on her mind for the past couple days.

_"I was just thinking last night and today about how different things are going to be for him or her. I mean, like…how different growing up is going to be than it was when I was growing up. It was just me and you for so long…and I loved it. I mean, I never really had a dad figure other than, well, dad on occasion, and Luke…and as much as I love Luke and wish he was my dad, he's not. I can't change that. I mean he can become my step-dad and I'll always think of him as a dad, but he's not…and he will be for this kid. It almost feels like I got…short changed. And that's not because it was just me and you for so long." _Rory qualified her last statement quickly after feeling her mom tense up under her head. _"This baby is going to have such an amazing childhood, just like I did because we both will have had you for a mom. But this kid will have had a beyond amazing mom and an amazing dad. And I think I'll always be a little jealous because Luke is actually his or her father, and he's not mine…you know? But then again I guess he or she could eventually be jealous of the relationship that we have…so I guess it equals out. I'm just talking mom. Ignore me. I shouldn't even be saying this out loud, especially not to you."_ She said, sitting up and looking at her mom who was fighting back tears.

_"I know baby. I've always known you've felt a little short changed about Chris. I've always felt awful for the way things turned out with him…but just like you I wouldn't change it. This baby is going to have an equally amazing childhood, but it's not going to be any better than yours was. It's just going to be a little different, that's all. I'm sure that there will be things about it's childhood that are going to stink, just like parts of yours probably did because of your dad and me on occasion. But I don't want you to have to feel like you can't talk to me about the way you feel about the whole situation. You know I'll always be the last person to judge you. And I know Luke loves you just as much as he'll love this child. I know he sees you as a daughter even though legally you aren't one, but in his heart you are." _Lorelai said, a single tear starting to run down her cheek.

_"He's a dad in mine too."_ Rory said, leaning her head on Lorelai's shoulder. _"He always will be."_

_"I love you." _Lorelai said, hugging Rory to her, both of their tears from the whole conversation soaking each other's shoulders.

"_I love you too, mom."_ Rory said, squeezing still tighter. They sat there on the porch, hugging and crying a little until Luke poked his head out the front door to inform them it was way too cold for them to be sitting outside. They headed inside, arms linked. Lorelai hugged her one more time and kissed her on the cheek before heading upstairs with Luke to go to sleep.

_"Have a good chat?" _Luke asked.

_"Yeah."_ She said and was quiet again. _"Luke?"_ she asked.

_"Yeah babe?"_ he said from across the room where he was donning his pajamas.

_"Are you afraid?"_ she asked, her voice trembling a little. Luke turned around and saw her staring at him, physically shaking.

_"Lorelai, what's wrong baby? You can talk to me."_ He said hurrying over and sitting down next to her, wrapping his arms around her.

_"I'm just scared. I…we…talked about when Rory was little, and I realized how…how…how short changed she got and I feel so awful about it and I don't want that to happen again. I'm scared that she's going to feel left out, or feel different or something. I'm afraid of messing things up between me and her and I'm afraid of raising another baby and doing this all over again. I'm afraid I'm not going to know what to do now that I have someone to help me. You know I'm not the most…non-stubborn person in the world and my only glimpse of dual parent upbringing is my own…and we know how great that turned out. I just don't want to fuck anything up. I don't want to be my parents…I don't want to alienate Rory but I want to give this baby everything I couldn't give Rory. I'm just…scared. I'm sorry. I'm rambling like Rory did earlier."_ Lorelai said, her voice slightly muffled into his shoulder.

_"Lorelai. Look at me."_ He said turning her face towards him as she tried to look away. _"You did amazing raising Rory, and you gave her everything you possibly could and more considering what you had to work with. You could not have done a better job raising that girl. She's a junior at one of the most prestigious colleges in America, hell the world probably, she's still got a 4.0 and is one of the most down to Earth, beautiful hearted people on the planet, and YOU did that. You did it by yourself, and you should really give yourself more credit. As for the whole not knowing anything about dual parenting other than what your parents did, we're going to be learning this together. It's going to be weird yes, but remember you have more experience in the parenting thing than I do, and that's going to help us through. We don't have to draw on anyone else's parenting tips or anything. We can do what we think is best. Yeah, I might have a little bit to draw on from my parents, but not really. We had to do a lot for ourselves after mom got sick…and I can't remember much about their parenting skills. So the answer to your question is yes, I'm scared, but I've also got you so I know it's going to be okay."_ He said. She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and lingering and then got up to go to the bathroom and change into her pajamas.

Sleep was the one thing Lorelai needed right then, and it made it better to be sleeping in Luke's arms with her daughter downstairs and knowing that their child, hers and Luke's not her's and Rory's….was safe inside her and that despite all of her fears…that things were going to be okay.


	9. Good Morning Starshine

**A/N : I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...a million times I'm sorry.**

**First I was on a costume crew, then I stage managed another show, and finals happened, and the adjustment back to being home, and all that bullshit...and yeah no excuse. I'm sorry this took so long. I had a major block for a while and I had to just kind of muscle through it so I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. It's filler before I get to the big plot line of the story. But I had to have it in here to buy me more time (as far as time in the story goes)**

**I leave for a camp on Tuesday and dont' come back until August 2 except for random days every now and then for my day off. So I don't know when the next time I'll be updating is, maybe I'll power through another chapter this weekend, who knows.**

**But please, review and be honest! Some stuff might be a little out of character, and others a little OCD, but pardon all that. That was me powering through my block to make some progress on the story. Anyway, enjoy!**

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**Good Morning Star Shine**

Luke woke up early the next Saturday, not early by his standards but certainly early enough not to roll over and find her side of the bed completely empty. He sat up, completely confused and sleep clogged. He shook his head and groped around in the semi dark room just double checking that she hadn't wound up at the end of the bed under the covers or in some other strange position that would keep him from feeling her next to him. He cursed the heavy curtains she had on her windows that kept the majority of the light from outside just there, outside. He pulled the covers off his legs and stumbled towards the light switch which, due to the blown bulb in the lamp, would allow the only light in the room to turn on.

After successfully slamming his knee into the post at the end of the bed and tripping over a robe, and then a pair of shoes, and then another robe, he finally flipped the switch and light flooded the room. He squinted and shielded his eyes as he surveyed the room. No Lorelai on the floor, she'd wound up on the floor one time during a particularly bad nightmare so he hadn't been so sure this wasn't a repeat occurrence.

He pulled open the door and checked the bathroom to make sure that she wasn't already completing her morning regimen of puking, brushing her teeth, puking again, showering, and puking two more times. It was too early for her to be puking already, but you could never be too sure with all of that…at least that's what he assumed.

He went about his business of brushing his teeth and peeing before he went downstairs and was shocked to find Lorelai sitting at the kitchen table, completely dressed, and working over some papers.

She had been up for hours. Something was keeping her from sleeping and she couldn't pin point it so at 5:43 on a Saturday morning she'd snuck out of bed, taken a shower, and gotten dressed quietly before doing her hair and makeup in the bathroom and then going downstairs to work on some Inn paperwork she'd been meaning to do. The paper work had only kept her busy for two hours, and even those two hours had been pushing it. She'd taken extra time to print extra legibly and double checked all of the facts and figures three and four times before filling it all in. Everything she'd been working on was still spread in front of her in piles of varying heights and manila folders emblazoned with stickers on the tabs saying "Dragonfly-Inventory" and "Dragonfly-Order Sheets" were strewn across the table as well as hand written notes from Sookie and Michel along with invoices from Tom and Jackson.

Her head was pounding from caffeine withdrawl and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. Where was this bitterness coming from? She was far from bitter about the fact that she couldn't have any caffeine because she couldn't have it because of the baby, and she was absolutely not bitter about the baby.

She rested her head on her hands and stared at the table for a few minutes before looking back up and staring out the window in the back door.

_This isn't me. I'm not the one that gets up at the ass crack of dawn to worry. This is Luke. Hell this isn't even Luke, and it's not Rory either. What have I turned in to? _

She looked back down at the table and pulled a legal pad towards her and started making a list of everything they had to do before the baby came. It ranged from picking a name and buying diapers to choosing the godparents to where they were going to put the baby. They didn't have room for a nursery and she didn't want to mess with Rory's room.

She looked up at the clock and saw it was 9:02. She'd been up for almost 4 hours when normally she'd just now be getting up to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet and then go back to sleep for two hours considering it was Saturday. She sighed and put her head down on her hands on the table and closed her eyes to try to ease her headache. She felt strong hands descend on her shoulders and start to massage them. She sighed appreciatively and raised up a little to give him better access to her shoulders. He dipped down and kissed her neck and ear and then she turned around to face him.

_I love it when he first gets up and his hair is all fluffy and bed-head-like. He looks like a teenager again._

_She's up, dressed, and has been working for what looks like a while and it's only 9:03 on a Saturday morning. Something's wrong._

She stood up and he took her all in. She was wearing her comfy jeans and a stretchy black long sleeved t-shirt. Her hair was curly, the way he loved it, and wild around her shoulders and she was wearing her glasses. Something she hardly ever did but was something else that he absolutely loved.

He took her hand and noticed that when she didn't squeeze his hand back that something was definitely wrong. He pulled her to him and slid his arms around her waist and held her tight. Her arms fit around him perfectly just like they always did, and he felt her shaking.

"_Baby, what's wrong?"_ He asked, running one hand up and down her back. She spoke into his shoulder and it came out muffled. He continued to rub her back and finally she pulled back and looked up at him, her blue eyes clouded with worry and brimming with tears.

_"I don't know."_ She said, the tears now leaving their captive pools and flowing freely down her cheeks.

_"Something has to be wrong. This isn't you."_ Luke said, his hands on her hips and ducking down to look her in the eye. _"You can tell me anything."_

She nodded. She knew she could tell him anything.

_"We don't have anywhere to put it."_ She said, sniffling and tears still running freely down her cheeks.

_"Anywhere to put what?" _he asked, confused and looking back and forth between her and the table.

_"The baby."_ She said, launching into a wail and collapsing back into his shoulder. He just stood there holding her dumbfounded.

To be honest, he hadn't thought about it really until that moment. That didn't make him a bad father did it? Shit. He still had the deeds to the Twickham house, and the family he'd rented it to were moving out in two weeks, which made it almost seem like perfect timing but he knew that she very well wouldn't move out of this house when it held so many memories in it.

_"Baby, go back to sleep. We can worry about this all later. I know very well you didn't get any sleep last night, so let's go back upstairs and go back to sleep. I promise we can talk about it when we wake up."_ He said, he didn't want to breech the subject at all, but the time her nap took would give him time how to bring up the Twickham house.

She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her tighter.

_"Can you walk upstairs?"_ he asked, and he felt her nod against him. He reached down and took her hand and lead her out of the kitchen, turning off the light in the process, and up the stairs to the bedroom. She slipped out of her jeans and into PJ pants and socks and slid under the covers. Luke turned off the light and pulled the drapes back closed before slipping under the covers himself. He wasn't exactly tired but he could sleep some more. He noticed she was about a foot away from him, and reached out and put his arm around her waist, inviting her to move in closer. He felt her hesitate.

_That's new._

She knew she needed to sleep, and when he offered to go back to sleep with her it calmed her down a little bit. She had slipped under the covers and felt her eyelids get heavy. That was all she could feel. She felt like a big void of emotion, nothing was going on inside her. She just felt blank. She felt his arm around her waist after he got into bed next to her and hesitated to scoot closer.

_That was new._

_Why did she hesitate?_

_Why did I just hesitate?_

She blinked a couple times and then scooted closer to him. She felt him tense up a little and then reach around her again and pull her closer. She rested her head against his shoulder and put one hand on his chest. He kissed her forehead and ran the hand that was around her waist up and down her back.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she woke up later Luke was still beside her, holding on around her and she smiled and snuggled into him and kissed his cheek softly.

_"Morning star shine." _She whispered in his ear.

_"Morning again. What time is it?" _He asked, glancing over at the clock. He did a double take. It was now 2 in the afternoon. They'd slept for 5 more hours. He'd never slept this late in her life. He supposed it was a good thing that Caesar was taking care of the diner this weekend in "self punishment" for taking two weekends in a row off. She smiled at him.

_"Feeling better?"_ He asked. She nodded and snuggled in closer. _"Do you want to talk about it?"_

_"Not right now. Later."_ She said yawning and throwing one leg haphazardly across his. His hands found their way to her back again and he ran them up and down it gently.

_"You always do that." _ She said, smiling up at him.

_"I can stop."_ He said, pulling his hands away from her back. She pouted and shook her head. She tilted her head up and kissed him softly.

_"I'm sorry." _She said, their noses resting together.

_"For what?"_ He asked, cupping one of her cheeks with his hand.

_"Being so…everywhere."_ She said softly.

_"Comes with the territory, believe me I'm used to it."_ He said, kissing her softly on the nose before catching her lips with his and they sat there tenderly kissing for a few minutes before breaking apart and smiling.

That was one of the things about their relationship that marveled everyone, including themselves. The way they could be completely hot and heavy and all over each other and then turn around be completely soft and sensual about everything. Both sides of their relationship showed through in everything they did and just the briefest touch of their hands together would send a bolt of electricity between the two of them and spread into the room.

_"Now I don't know about you, but I need to take another shower and wash the morning off of me."_ She said, running her hand over his chest.

_"You go first. I'll go make some…uh…lunch?"_ He said consulting the clock. She nodded in agreement and extracted herself from the now twisted sheets and went and took a shower.

Luke went downstairs clad in a t-shirt and a pair of boxers and went about the lunch making process. He made a BLT for Lorelai along with tater-tots and he made a pitcher of sweet tea before fixing himself a salad. He was just putting the plates on the table when she came downstairs and stood in the doorway and smiled.

She felt a lot better after her shower, it was one of those rare mornings where she didn't get nauseated, but she knew that would come back and bite her in the ass later. She slid back into the clothes she'd been wearing that morning and redid her hair and makeup. She took a deep breath and headed downstairs to possibly breech the "no room" issue with Luke.

_"Look at you being all Mr. Mom"_ she said from the doorway. He rolled his eyes and sat down in his chair.

_"Mmmm BLT, yummy."_ She said, digging into her food. Luke picked up his fork and slowly ate his salad. Even an attempt at eating at the same speed she did would undoubtedly cause him bodily harm.

_"I'm gonna stop in at the inn for a little while, check in on everything, do you wanna go get dinner somewhere tonight?"_ She asked, with a mouthful of tater tots, and shoving her glasses up her nose with the back of her hand.

_"That's fine, I've got some stuff to check on today anyway. I'll come pick you up at the Inn at like 7?" _He replied. She nodded and finished off the last of her lemonade and stood up. She walked around the table and bent down and planted a big sloppy kiss on his cheek and a peck on his lips before grabbing her folders and heading for the door.

_"If you'll wait two seconds I'll walk out with you."_ Luke said, putting the dishes in the sink and grabbing his hat and keys and following her.

She slipped her hand in his and they walked over to the Jeep together and he leaned against the door while she fished out her keys.

_I can feel him staring at me. Why is he staring at me? I wish he'd stop staring at me. I like it when he stares at me, most of the time. But right now he just needs to cut it out. _

"_Hey, Luke…take a picture it'll last longer"_ she said, after finally unlocking the jeep and opened the door.

_"Sorry. You're beautiful."_ He said, leaning in and kissed her on the forehead.

_"To quote Vivien, you're forgiven."_ She said smiling up at him. She stood up on her tip toes, only a little cause she was in her 3 inch Jimmy Choo boots, and trapped his lips with hers. She smiled through the kiss as they melted together, much like they always did. She couldn't remember a single kiss where they hadn't just melded into one person in the process. His hands rested on her hips and rubbed lazy circles on her hip bones as her fingers twirled through the hair that poked out of the back of his baseball cap. Her hands tightened around his neck as she massaged the back of his neck as she simultaneously ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He readily opened his mouth and she ran her tongue over his slowly before they settled into a rhythm, their tongues slowly dancing together as they stood there, all but groping by her car. She broke the kiss reluctantly after a few minutes and rested her forehead against his.

_"I have to go to work."_ She said, a hint of disappointment flickering in her voice.

_"But not all day, I'll see you at 7." _He said, sliding his hands down her arms and taking her hands.

_"Okay."_ She said reaching back up and pecking him on the lips before squeezing his hands and getting in her car.

He watched her drive away and as she was out of sight of the house he turned and went inside, smiling as he went.

_"You've got good reason to smile, sugar. That was one hell of a kiss goodbye."_ He heard Babette call from her porch. He turned and waved at her, sitting on her front porch with curlers, coffee, a bathrobe and her phone next to her. She'd probably been giving Patty a play by play the whole time. He groaned and went inside.

He took a shower, letting the almost searing hot water pound away at his shoulders in a futile attempt to ease some of the tension that had built up that morning from Lorelai's early morning break down.

He got dressed and called the Lawrence's and asked if it was okay if he came by the house today under pretense of a walk through that he was advised to do through the lawyer that had been handling all the leasing agreements. They quickly agreed and he said he'd be there in about a half hour, which gave him time to collect himself and find the digital camera Lorelai had somewhere in her house.

He found the camera, tucked into a drawer under the phone in the hutch, along with a fistful of pictures from when Rory was little. He grabbed the phone and his keys and drove over to the house, bracing himself for what he might find inside. The Lawrence's had twin two year old boys and a four year old little girl, who had undoubtedly trashed the place.

He was right. Completely right.

Angela Lawrence opened the door looking frazzled, but smiling at the same time.

_"Hey Luke, come on in."_ She said pulling the door open wider. The house was mostly packed up and empty save for a few pieces of furniture and some toys in the living room.

_"We're pretty much out, the movers come tomorrow to pick up the rest of the furniture and the couple of boxes upstairs; so we should be completely out of your hair by tomorrow."_ She said smiling and pushing her red hair out of her face. It was obvious she was frazzled and exhausted.

_"Okay that's great. No rush though, if you need until the end of the week please take it." _He said

_"I think we'll be fine getting out of here tomorrow. I'm going to go back out in the backyard to make sure the kids aren't killing each other. Yell if you need anything!"_ Angela called, walking back through the kitchen and out the back door.

Luke looked around, the house wasn't completely and totally trashed but it was going to need a lot of work before he and Lorelai could move into it. The fact that the Lawrence's were going to be out early was a major plus. He figured that if he got some help it would only take about two weeks, maybe three to get the house ready to show Lorelai.

He started his walk through in the kitchen, some of the boards were nicked and gouged out (a result of dropped plates and toys no doubt) and the backsplash was covered in a strange looking film. There was play-doh smashed into the island and in between the floorboards, the fridge was spotted with various food stuffs and he didn't even bother checking inside. He snapped a couple of pictures and then moved onto the next room.

The dining room was right off of the kitchen, and from the looks of it the Lawrence's hadn't really used it. The walls had a few spots where a kid or two had attacked them with a crayon or marker, but other than that the room was in good shape. He took a picture of the windows in the room so they could figure out window dressings for them and then moved on.

The living room was one of the biggest disaster areas. The room was back through the kitchen and through an archway. The carpet was completely ruined. On first glance you'd say it was brown, but Luke knew from way back that it was actually a lighter tan color, almost white. He grimaced and made a mental note. The fireplace looked like it hadn't been cleaned since Old Man Twickham had died, it was completely black and ash was everywhere, even spilling out of the hearth and onto the carpet. The walls were spotted with attempts to remove crayon and muddy hand prints. He snapped a few pictures, begrudgingly and then walked through the rest of the downstairs. The den was much like the dining room, pretty much decent except for a couple spots on the wall and one particularly deep gouge in the floor.

The master bedroom was just as bad off as the living room. It was situated off of the living room, and was a huge room. He'd always loved that room, even when Twickham had had it in a disgusting green color. It had been repainted egg shell like the rest of the house, and the Lawrence's hadn't changed that. There was a second fireplace on the far wall, which was in no better shape than the one in the living room. The entire far wall was covered in windows, letting a ton of light spill into the room on sunny days. The carpet in the room, as well as the walls, was in as much disarray as the living room. It looked like the kids lived in the room instead of the parents. He was afraid to go into the bathroom but braved it anyway.

He should have been scared.

He wasn't sure if the bathroom had been cleaned since he had cleaned it after they'd moved the museum out. The grout in the floor was completely black, and the tiles now had a muted tan film all over them, all would need to be replaced and re-grouted. The caulking on the huge garden tub would have to be redone and the shower would need to be replaced. The bay window behind the tub was cracked, and dirty like everything else.

He left the bathroom and bedroom in a hurry and went through the study off the living room and the den before taking a big breath and starting upstairs.

Two hours later he was done with the walk through and disgusted beyond belief at what the Lawrence's had done to the place. The backyard and much of the front was going to have to be re-landscaped and sections of the fence would have to be replaced thanks to their dogs.

He got back in his truck and drove by the diner to check the rush before going home to pick up the papers he had on the house, as far as dimensions and such, and drop off the camera and change before going to Hartford to stop at Lowes to start buying the things that he'd need to start fixing the house up.

Lorelai was up to her ass in work at the Inn. They'd overbooked themselves by 8 rooms for the weekend so she was trying to arrange alternate places for people to stay, and changing reservations back and forth between dates. The phone, when she wasn't on it, didn't stop ringing the whole day. She watched the clock, waiting in anticipation for 7:00 to roll around so Luke would come and get her and they could go out and talk.

Sookie hadn't helped Lorelai's mood at all. She'd gushed to her about the nursery they'd just finished for the baby, and about all things baby like. Lorelai wanted to gush back so much, but she couldn't. They'd still only told Rory about the baby and she didn't want to say anything to Sookie before she okayed it with Luke.

She caught herself daydreaming more than once about making the nursery for their baby, and what colors it would be done in and what kind of furniture they'd buy for it.

_We have to find somewhere to put it first._

She hadn't thought of any alternatives to offer to Luke so far, or hell, a plan to have alternatives to for that matter. The only thing she'd even entertained for a split second was converting Rory's room, and she was far from okay with that. Maybe Luke would have some brilliant idea about what to do, he was smart like that so maybe he would.

_I can only hope._

Luke got back from Hartford at 10 til 7, having called Lorelai on the way and told her that it would be more like 7:30 when he picked her up. He stopped by the diner to take all the supplies that he'd bought upstairs. The house had been a wreck but other than fixing the hardwood floors and laying the carpet in the rooms that needed it, he was confident he could do it himself. He'd gone ahead and bought replacement tile for the bathroom and kitchen, paint for the master bedroom and living room, ordered a new shower for the bathroom, a new window for the bathroom, and caulk to fix the tub in the bathroom and some plumbing supplies incase any of the sinks needed it, and he was sure they did. Angela had called him while he was in Lowes and told him the movers would be in and out by 10:30 the next morning, which gave him most of the day to work on the house if he wanted to. He hated leaving the diner in everyone else's hands so often, but that's what he'd hired extra help for so he shouldn't feel bad about it but he did a little.

He had decided he'd start work on the bathroom and master bedroom the next day. He'd also rented a carpet cleaner that was taking up residence in the back of his truck and he was going to attempt to just clean the carpet in the house before paying to replace it all. He was already going to have to replace a lot of the hardwood in the kitchen and dining room so he'd rather not buy new carpet unless he had to. He'd start retiling the bathroom floor and work his way up. The shower was going to be there around 3, and the Lowes sales associate assured him that the people delivering it knew how to install it properly, so he wasn't worried about that. He'd gotten more egg shell paint to do the two rooms over again, but he knew Lorelai would want to paint it a different color later, and he'd "help" her paint it when the time came around.

The more that he thought about working on the house the more excited he got about all of it. He only hoped Lorelai would go for it all. He deposited everything but the carpet cleaner up in his apartment and drove towards the Inn to get Lorelai.

_"What's with the carpet cleaner?"_ Lorelai asked when she met him on the front porch.

_"Well hello to you too."_ He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the railing.

_"Sorry."_ She said, sidling up next to him and kissing him softly. _"Hi."_

They smiled at each other and she broke the silence by asking, again, _"What's with the carpet cleaner?"_

_"The Lawrence's are moving out of the Twickham house, and I needed one to get the carpets in better shape before the new tenants moved in."_

_Okay, not a complete lie. _

_"Oh, okay. I bet with their hellions they trashed the place."_ She said, linking her arm through his and walking towards the truck.

_"You have no idea."_ He opened the door of the truck for her and she jumped in and fastened her seatbelt. He climbed in the other side and they were off to Hartford for dinner.

_"What are you thinking about?"_ she asked a few minutes into the ride, noticing he looked like he was concentrating on something else in addition to the road.

_"Just about what you said this morning." _He said softly.

_"Oh."_ She said, turning her gaze out the window. _"I thought about it today, and as much as I don't want to, we can convert Rory's room. I'm sure that Rory would understand."_ She said softly, surprising herself. She'd entertained the thought but hadn't known she'd be able to voice it without getting upset.

_"Lorelai, we don't have to. We'll figure something else out."_ He said, reaching over and squeezing her knee.

_"Luke, be realistic. No we won't. There's not enough room in my house to do anything, and we sure as hell wont fit in your apartment, and after the Inn and all the other baby expenses we can't afford to add onto the house. It's the only option." _She said, getting slightly frustrated with him.

He was quiet.

_Shit._ She thought.

_"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just frustrated."_ She said.

_"I know."_ He replied, moving his hand off the seat where he'd put it in her rant and put it back on the steering wheel.

The rest of the ride to the restaurant was silent. Lorelai felt awful.

_I didn't mean to snap at him. God, I just wish I could snap my fingers and the house be bigger, or make myself okay with changing Rory's room. I mean she's grown up and won't be living at the house anymore, so what should it matter if her room is there or not? But what about when she comes to visit? I hadn't thought about that. I just want to make it through dinner without killing each other, or anyone else. I really don't want to yell about this in front of people at the restaurant. Maybe going out to talk wasn't such a good idea. _

_Do I tell her about the house tonight? Or just wait it out. God, why does everything have to be so damn hard? I really want to surprise her with it…maybe I could hint at it? We'll see if it comes up in conversation._

The hostess sat them quickly thanks to a reservation and their less than competent waiter took their drink orders, water for both, Lorelai's with lemon.

_"This is going to be fun. I don't think he could spell his own name without looking at his name tag. And "Atom"…what kind of a name is that?"_ Luke asked, smiling. Lorelai finally looked up from her hands, which she'd been staring at since they got out of the car and smiled at him.

_Maybe this isn't going to be so painful after all_.

They sipped their waters and took in the restaurant for a few minutes before they both tried to speak at once.

_"Luke, I"_

_"Lorelai, I"_

_"You first."_

_"No, you."_

_"I'm sorry about the car. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, I promise. I'm just so all over the place, hormones and what not, and I don't feel very good, not that either of those are a good excuse but…"_ she said, her eyes welling up a little.

_"Oh baby I know." _ He said reaching across and squeezing one of her hands.

_"I just, I really don't want to mess with Rory's room you know? It's like…if her room is still the way it is then it's like I've still got her around all the time, you know? God, how many times can I say "you know" in a sentence? Maybe I'm being selfish and playing favorites against a kid that isn't even born yet, I just don't want to hurt Rory by taking her room away. But if there's no other option, I guess that's what we'll have to do."_ She said, sighing loudly.

Luke stared down at his plate of steak that Atom had just brought, he didn't quite know how to breech the subject.

_Take a page out of her book for once and just be blunt about it man. _

"_I have another plan."_ He said softly and looking up at her. She stared back at him.

_"What?"_ she asked, trying to suppress her excitement over not having to mess with Rory's room.

_"We move."_ He said simply. He watched her face crumble.

_Maybe that wasn't the best way to do it. God, you're a fucking idiot Lucas Danes._

"_No."_ she said simply.

_"Lorelai, listen to me…"_ he started.

_"No." _she said forcefully.

He dropped the conversation. The rest of the dinner was in silence, and so was the ride home. He'd tried to start the conversation up again several times, and failed miserably. She opened the door to the house and walked in and upstairs without saying a word. He followed her upstairs and went into the bathroom to change while she changed in the bathroom. He came out and found her cradling the digital camera in her hands.

_"Why did you take so many pictures?"_ she asked, flipping through the pictures slowly.

Luke froze, he didn't quite know what to say. She'd been so forceful about not wanting to move that he was scared to bring it up again.

_"Well, um, there's a lot of work to be done before the new tenants move in."_ he said sitting down next to her.

_"Oh, I see. Who's moving in?"_ she asked.

_Aha! A way to slip it in._

_"A guy and his girlfriend in their 30s."_ he said nonchalantly.

_"Oh. Anyone I know?" _she asked, still not catching on.

_"I think you've met them a few times."_

_"Kirk and Lulu?" _she asked. He'd forgotten about them.

_"No." _he replied.

"_Oh, then who?"_ she asked again.

_"She's from a Hartford family, but has lived here for a while. He's lived here his whole life."_ He hinted again, she was slowly starting to catch on. _"She's beautiful, dark hair, blue eyes, has a kid with another guy, kid goes to Yale…He owns a local establishment."_

She crumbled in front of him again, the digital camera tumbling from her hands and safely onto a pile of clothes under her feet.

_Shit. Now what did I do?_

She turned to face him and buried her face in his pajama shirt, her hot tears making wet spots.

_"Hey, hey don't cry."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Don't be sorry."_

_"I didn't know. I thought you had leased it out to someone else. I didn't know you wanted us to move in there."_ She said hiccupping softly as she cried.

_"How could you? I didn't even think of it until this morning when I found you downstairs and you told me what was wrong. It's a great solution to the problem though. There's plenty of room for us, the baby, Rory, and anyone else that happens to come along in the future. There's a lot of work to be done but I think I can get it done in less than a month if I get some help."_ He said, rubbing her back.

_"But what about this house?"_ she asked.

_"What about it? We don't have to do anything with it. I own the Twickham house and the mortgage on it isn't atrocious, and you own this house free and clear. It can stay here and stay empty if you want and be used for storage for us or we can sell it if you want. It's all up to you. Everything is up to you." _He said, still rubbing lazy circles on her back.

She was quiet for a long time, he'd almost thought she'd fallen asleep until she pulled back from his arms and looked at him.

_"I'm in. Let's make it the Gilmore-Danes house."_ She said softly. _"I love you." _She added as an after thought.

_"I love you too."_

_"Can I go see it tomorrow? I haven't been in it since the museum closed."_

_"Sure. I have a lot of work to do, I'm gonna start some of it tomorrow, so brace yourself. It's rough, but you can come and we can start deciding on what to do as far as paint and stuff in some of the rooms if you want." _He said.

_"Okay."_ She said.

_"But right now you need sleep. Do you still feel sick?"_ he asked.

_"Yeah, I'm just achy. It's probably because I didn't get much sleep. I'll feel better tomorrow." _She assured him. She kissed him one more time and they slid under the covers, his arm protectively going around her as they drifted off.

Things were going to be okay after all.


	10. Making Progress

**A/N**: And finally, after 9 chapters I've managed to get to the beginning of the major plot line of the story.

Don't hit me too hard for the ending. There's a chance I might get one more chapter out this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.

* * *

**Making Progress**

Luke got to the house at 10:15 the next day, just in time to see the movers leave and tell the Lawrence's goodbye. He waved as their minivan pulled away and then let himself into the house and started unloading the supplies he'd bought out of the truck and stacked them in the dining room so he could start working.

_"First things first, got to figure out how to work this damn thing."_ He said to no one in particular and went about reading the instructions on the back of the carpet cleaner. He mixed up the solution in the kitchen sink and in doing so noticed that Angela had cleaned some before they left, undoubtedly embarrassed by the way the house had been when he had arrived yesterday. He dumped it back into the machine and pushed it into the living room. Turning it on it made a loud whirring sound and something clinked and then it started spraying the carpet like he assumed it was supposed to. He pushed it around the living room, feeling kind of dumb in the process. To him it felt like he was pushing a shopping cart all over the living room.

Thirty minutes later he'd managed to do half of the room and it seemed to be working fairly well. The carpet was back to close to it's original color, and it seemed to be in good condition other than the stains that were currently being sucked away by the Rug Doctor. He wasn't sure if they'd even keep the carpet down or replace it with hardwood, but it was nice to have the option to keep it and not have to replace it. He'd settled into a rhythm and finished the room quickly and dumped out the dirty water into the sink for the fifth time. He pushed the carpet cleaner back into the dining room and started his attack on the master bathroom.

He had successfully ripped up the tile in the bathroom by the time Lorelai arrived, and sat down the crowbar on the vanity and brushed his hands off when he heard her walk in the front door, her heels clicking on the hardwood of the foyer.

_"Hello? Anyone home?"_ she called, her voice echoing off the empty rooms. She hadn't seen the place as a house before, other than the many times she'd told Old Man Twickham bye, but during those visits she'd walked through the foyer into the living room, told him bye and left. Plus, the old man had so much shit laying around the house you could hardly see the walls, let alone the floor. The place was big, really big.

_"Hey babe."_ She said smiling when he walked into the foyer through the dining room. She wrinkled her nose into her "scrunchy-face" when she saw how dirty he was, but kissed him lightly anyway. _"I'm here for my tour of my new house."_

Luke took her by the hand and led her around. She marveled at just how huge the house was. The foyer was big and open with a curving staircase to the upstairs directly in front of them. He told her the door to the left led to a study that they could use as a joint office. The dining room was massive, big enough for a table to sit their small family and all of their closest friends.

_"Oh my God. Sookie will be so jealous."_ She said as she walked into the kitchen that rivaled the size of the one at The Dragonfly. She ran her hand along the countertops and grimaced as she hit a sticky spot. _"Gross." _ She said and went to go wash off her hand in the sink.

He led her through the entryway into the living room and now that the carpet was cleaned it didn't look too shabby.

_"Needless to say, I have to paint."_ He said, gesturing at the wall that was covered in crayon from 2 feet up and below.

_"Aw but it's cute."_ She said running her hand along the crayon scribbles.

They walked through the master bedroom and into the bathroom where Lorelai fawned over the size of the tub and the vanity. Luke showed her the tile he'd bought for the bathroom and described the new shower to her and she was almost giddy like a 6 year old. They walked hand in hand up the stairs to see the other bedrooms.

On the left side of the hallway were two bedrooms that shared a bathroom in between them. The first one was a bit bigger than the other and was the perfect size for a play room or some other kind of random rec room. The other one was painted a soft blue and had obviously been used as a bedroom for the twin boys. The room across the hall from that one was the size of the other two combined and then some, making it about ¾ the size of the master bedroom. It had a large adjoining bathroom, and in short was perfect for Rory and her books.

There were back stairs that led up to an attic, if you could call it that, behind the bathroom off of the larger room. The attic was big, and split into two rooms by the set of stairs.

"_I thought if you wanted to we could make this into a sewing room, and the other side into like a guest room or another office."_ Luke said, snaking his arms around her waist.

"_I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."_ She said, leaning back into him. _"This house is perfect."_

"_You haven't seen the best parts."_ Luke said, taking her hand and pulling her back down the attic stairs, down the main stairs and through the house into the back yard. It was huge.

"_It's big enough for a pool if we want, and still have room for a swing set or a play place type deal." _Luke said. _"The deck needs some work, and if we decide to put in a pool we might want to extend the deck some, hell we might want to extend it anyway."_

Lorelai was floored. The backyard was bigger than huge and the deck was awesome. It wrapped around the entire back side of the house and onto the side a little, which was sectioned off and screened in.

"_There's an entrance to that through the kitchen, it's where that other door goes."_ He said, answering her unvoiced question. _"It'd be a great place to just sit and relax."_

_"When can we move in?"_ she asked, almost purring. She'd never seen a house so perfect for a growing family. Granted they were only 3 ½ when Rory was home right now, but it left them plenty of room to grow.

_"There's still a lot of work to do. I might see if I can get some of Tom's guys to come help on the bigger projects, but if I work over here after I get off from the diner at night some nights I think we could be in here in a month."_ He said, running his hands down her arms. She shivered a little under his touch. _"It's cold out here, we should go back in."_

They walked back inside and Lorelai sat and watched Luke work on the tile of the bathroom and they talked about plans for the colors of the rooms and such before she left at 2, ideas flying around in her brain.

Luke had a third of the tile done when the Lowes delivery guys showed up with the shower to install it. He let them in and left them to their work. They made quick work of everything and got it all installed and working within an hour and a half. He tipped the guys, even though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to, and went back to work on the tile.

It was nearing 6 when he finished up his work on the bathroom and cleaned up in there. He bleached out the tub he'd just finished caulking and scrubbed it out along with the tile that surrounded it. He cleaned out the shower, and scrubbed the toilet and sink before running a swiffer over the floor and windex-ed the mirror before declaring that room done. It was one room down, minus getting a fresh coat of paint, and about a million to go.

He met Lorelai at the diner at 6:45 and they took their food upstairs and ate, still discussing plans for the house.

_"The blue room, I think we should work on that one next. I don't want to do pink or blue though cause that's too normal. Yellow. I want it to be yellow."_ She said in between bites. She had been rapid firing suggestions for the house the entire time they'd been eating.

_"You wanna come back with me? I don't want you doing too much but you can come keep me company?"_ he asked.

_"Sure. I'll go home and change. I can help paint if we open the windows."_ She said excitedly. That was one thing Luke would never understand, the woman's fetish for painting.

_"Well…I guess that's okay."_ He said after thinking about it for a few minutes. There were enough windows in the master to open and have it really well ventilated, and he could paint the bathroom where it was more enclosed…not that those rooms would stay that color for very long, but it'd give them a clean slate to start with when they did paint it a different color.

Lorelai squealed and jumped up to go change. She pulled Luke up and hugged him and then skipped down the stairs to go home and put on her painting clothes. He shook his head and stuck the dishes in the sink to soak and grabbed his keys to get to the house before Lorelai.

When Lorelai got to the house, all of the lights were blazing in the downstairs. She could hear faint music wafting out the open windows into the cool early March evening. She stood on the front porch of the house and looked out into the street. Soon this would be her street, these would be her neighbors, and their kids would run up and down the street with hers. Sookie's house was just two houses down, another plus for the house. She was sure baby-no-name Bellville and baby-no-name Danes would be best of friends and it'd be nice having Sookie just literally right next door. She absently rested a hand on her stomach and smiled to herself before turning and pushing the door open.

_"Honey, I'm home!"_ Lorelai called in the foyer. Startling herself at both the echo and how normal it sounded for her to say that.

_"Bedroom!" _Luke called back. She wandered back through the house and into the bedroom, where she sat down her purse and immediately took off her shoes, causing Luke to raise an eyebrow.

_"I never paint wearing shoes."_ She replied, before grabbing a roller and looked at him for instruction. All the windows in the room were open and the overhead fan was on as well as a smaller one in the corner that she guessed Luke had set up. She praised herself for wearing an old sweatshirt so she'd stay warm in the cool evening, soon to be cold night air.

_"Whatever."_ He said, knowing better than to question her. "_Your paint is in the blue tray, start where ever you want to…that's taped off._" He clarified as she started for the one wall he hadn't gotten to in taping off the molding. She grinned and headed for the opposite wall._ "I'm gonna finish taping off this wall and then start in the bathroom, take it easy and if you get tired take a sit and watch. There's tea on the kitchen counter if you want something to drink._" He said, shifting the ladder and picking up another role of blue painters tape and climbed up in order to start taping off the molding.

Lorelai sang along softly to the radio as she painted, she'd always loved to paint and had no idea why. Sometimes it just helped her relax and sometimes it just allowed her brain to slow down and focus on one thing instead of zipping around like some canary on speed, and this was one of those times. She ran the roller over the wall and watched as the paint spread out, the paint was a little lighter than what was on the walls, but no big thing, it would probably dry darker anyway. She watched as she covered a big purple smiley face, and the name "Riley" written in blue crayon with the R backwards. It tugged at her heart to be painting over someone else's memories, but she was sure she'd be scrubbing crayon off the walls in the not so distant future. She painted along happily for a good chunk of time and was finished with three of the four walls before Luke barely even got the bathroom completely taped.

_"Done already?"_ He asked as she plopped down on the bathroom counter.

_"Almost. One more wall, I'm taking a breather."_ She said, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

He looked at her and grinned, she had paint in her hair, on her nose, and even in her eyelashes not to mention all over her clothes.

_"Looks like you got more paint on you than on the walls, good thing I laid down the drop cloth." _He chided her gently.

She pursed her lips and glared at him, before dissolving into giggles when she realized what a mess she was. She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail on top of her head, making her look like an overly tall six year old.

_"You look like a little kid."_ He said, smiling at her.

_"Well I am young…"_ she started.

_"Young at heart…"_ he finished.

_"Hey now."_ She said, throwing a wad of tape at him and throwing her head back in laughter when it bounced off his forehead between his eyes.

**And she purses her lips,**

**bats her eyes,**

**and she plays with me sitting there slack jawed with nothing to say**

"_You best get out there and finish your last wall before I paint you!"_ he threatened, shaking his paint brush at her menacingly.

_"Would have worked a lot better if there had been paint on it."_ She called over her shoulder as she walked into the other room and picked up her roller again. _"Lukey?"_ she called after another half hour had passed.

_"I told you not to call me that."_ He yelled back

_"You're supposed to say 'what-ty'!" _she said, her pout evident in her voice.

_"I'm not going to say that, I've never said that."_

_"You said it once."_

_"Did not."_

_"Did too."_

_"Did may saying it depend on me getting laid?"_

_"Probably."  
_

_"Well there you go. Did you need something or were you just trying to annoy me?"_

_"I can't reach the high up parts and you have the ladder."_

_"I don't want you climbing on ladders."_ He grumbled as he came out of the bathroom.

_"What am I supposed to do? Scale the walls like some…I dunno…super hero or something? I'm not Batman."_ She said poking him in the side.

"_Batman couldn't climb walls anyway."_ He said, poking her back. _"I'll get those parts later. Don't worry about it. You did good kid." _He said kissing her temple.

"_I always do a good job painting. Are you implying that I don't?"_ she asked, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"_Of course not."_ He said hugging her from behind.

"_How much more do you have to go?"_ She asked, leaning her head back against his shoulder and looking up at him.

"_Not much, wanna come keep me company and then we'll go home?"_ he asked. She nodded and followed him back into the bathroom. She sat back on the counter where she'd been sitting earlier and watched him paint. He only had a wall and a half to go, and the entire wall he had left was mostly taken up by the tub, so he finished quickly. They put the rollers and brushes in a bucket of water to soak for the evening and cleaned up the mess. The master bedroom was pretty much done. Lorelai had gotten all but the last foot before the crown molding done, and Luke could finish that tomorrow before he cleaned the carpet in there. Tom had said that he could get some guys in on Thursday to redo the floorboards in the kitchen and dining room, so Luke would probably work in the diner Monday and Tuesday and then spend all of Wednesday and Thursday at the house. He had told Tom he'd call him back if they decided to do hardwood into the living room or not.

_That reminds me._

"_Hey, babe?"_ he called out, Lorelai had left the bedroom and was leaning against the island in the kitchen.

"_Did you think about if we want to do hardwood in the living room?"_ He asked.

"_I don't know, what do you think?" _she asked, coming into the living room with him.

"_I think it'd make the downstairs flow better if we did, but if we don't it's not a big deal. The study doesn't have them either."_ He said.

"_Yeah but that's more like a bedroom or something like that anyway. I think we should."_ She said nodding her head definitely.

"_Alright, I'll let Tom know and maybe they can start on it when they come to repair the other flooring."_ He said, slipping an arm around her waist.

They walked out to the cars after making sure all the windows were shut and the lights were off. Luke locked the door and pocketed the keys before joining Lorelai at the cars. They climbed into their separate cars and headed for home. Lorelai went ahead upstairs to get in the shower while Luke checked the voicemail and checked the back door to make sure it was locked before grabbing cookies for a snack for Lorelai and heading upstairs. He slipped into the bathroom after her and disrobed before stepping in the shower behind her.

She jumped a little when she felt him behind her, but smiled after turning around and discovering it was in fact him and not some random burglar that had decided a nice shower with her would be fun before robbing the house. She was rinsing the last of the shampoo out of her hair when he got in, so she dipped her head back one more time and rinsed the rest before sliding around so he could get under the water. She reached over and grabbed a razor and proceeded to shave her legs.

"_Oh that's sexy."_ He said, rolling his eyes.

"_Hey, this was an unplanned meeting in the shower. Plus, you don't want like, rug burn if my legs rub up against you in the middle of the night do you?"_ she asked, looking up from her bent over position to squint up at him through the water droplets bouncing off of him and all over her.

"_No I guess not."_ He replied, smacking her on the bottom lightly.

"_Not when I have a sharp object." _ She said, gesticulating with the razor.

"_Roger."_ He said as he quickly bathed and washed his hair and stepped back out of the water to let her rinse off her legs.

They stepped out of the shower and dried off and took turns at the sink brushing their teeth before retiring to the bedroom. Lorelai put on a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved navy Yale t-shirt, that she'd undoubtedly stolen from Rory, before climbing into bed. Luke pulled on boxers and a t-shirt and slid in next to her. He rolled over to face her and noticed she looked a little green.

"_Hey, you okay?"_ he asked, running a hand down her side.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. I think just the incredibly hot water mixed with the residual paint fumes kinda made me nauseous, but I'll be okay."_ She said tilting her chin up and kissing him goodnight before turning over. Luke turned off the light and was asleep in minutes.

Two hours later, Lorelai was very much awake. She shifted, trying to get into a position that didn't send short jolts of pain through her body, but nothing seemed to work. Her head was pounding and she thought she could probably throw up until all of her internal organs were laying in a puddle at her feet. The sheets were all stuck to her legs, and arms thanks to the layer of sweat that coated her from head to toe. She pulled the sheets off her arms and wincing rolled over to face Luke. He was sound asleep and snoring softly, which she'd come to learn was a signifier that he was in a deep sleep. She didn't want to wake him up.

She managed to kick the sheets off her legs and swing them over the side of the bed to sit up and try to make it to the bathroom. The instant she swung her legs over the side of the bed she let out a loud groan that despite best efforts had slipped through her lips and echoed into the room. She put her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her hands. She took a shaky breath and let it out. Her head was spinning, the floorboards were engulfed in a whirlpool spinning quickly away from her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut and that only made it worse.

"_Lorelai?" _a groggy voice said behind her, and she felt the bed shift.

"_I'm sorry, go back to sleep."_ She said meekly, her voice cracking twice. He sat up quickly, noting the pain and panic in her voice, the bed shook and her head and stomach reeled again.

Luke threw the covers off of his legs and quickly crossed around the bed and knelt in front of her.

"_Baby what's wrong."_ He asked, putting the back of his hand to her forehead and resting the other one on her knee.

She was completely white. He'd never seen someone as pale as she was. She was burning up to the touch but her teeth were chattering in addition to the sweat that was pouring off of her. Her eyes were dull, and even the pigment to her lips seemed to have vanished.

"_Here, lay back down."_ He said, trying to ease her back onto the bed. She cried out as she tried to lay back and so he helped her sit forward again. _"What? What's wrong?" _he asked, completely panic stricken.

"_I can't, it hurts too much."_ She said, curling one arm around her middle.

He didn't know what to do. He was starting to panic, but knew he had to keep himself in check so that she didn't get even more upset than she already was. Tears were pouring down her face in addition to sweat. Instead of easing her straight back on the bed he helped her lay down on her side and she curled even further into the fetal position. He went in the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and dampened it and returned to the bed to put it on her forehead. She whimpered slightly as he did and he smoothed out her hair and kissed her on the cheek and got up to go call someone to find out what to do.

She felt him get up off the bed and reached out blindly with one hand and grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to her, fumbling for his hand. He immediately returned and sat down next to her, squeezing her hand softly.

"_Luke I don't know what's happening."_ She said, her voice wavering.

"_Me either, but I'm going to go call somebody…okay?"_ he said running his hand over her hair.

"_Okay."_ She said, sniffling as she cried. He got up and calmly walked out of the room and made sure he was clear of the bedroom before sprinting down the stairs two at a time and sliding along the hardwood in his socks and grabbing the phone. He realized as he hit the talk button that he had no idea who to call, so he grabbed the phone book and looked up the number for Hartford Memorial.

After two rings, a bored sounding receptionist picked up.

"_Hey, I have no idea who I was supposed to call. My girlfriend is burning up, sweating, and can't straighten out to lay down, she can't move without pain shooting through her."_ He said quickly, realizing as he talked how dumb he sounded.

"_Okay sir, take a deep breath. We're gonna go ahead and have you bring her in. What's her name so we can go ahead and put her on the list so you won't have to wait as long."_ The receptionist replied calmly.

"_Gilmore, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore."_ He said quickly.

"_Okay sir, we'll see you when you get here."_ She replied before hanging up.

He hung up the phone and ran back upstairs and then collected himself before going in the bedroom and putting clothes on. He pulled on the first pair of jeans he saw and a black t-shirt. He ran his hands through his hair and stuffed his feet in shoes before going over to her side of the bed. He pulled the covers he'd put over her away from her and checked to make sure what she had on was decent before sliding one arm under her knees and putting the other behind her head.

He stood up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was absolutely burning up. He carried her quickly but carefully downstairs and out the front door and out to the Jeep. He sat her in the passenger seat and reclined it back and she curled back up into the fetal position immediately. He closed the door and ran back inside to grab her purse and his phone as well as the keys. He locked the front door behind him and hurried out to the Jeep.

Twenty minutes later he pulled the car under the overhang of the Emergency Room and was scooping Lorelai out of the front seat and headed inside. He situated Lorelai in a chair and told the nurse who she was and that he'd be right back and not to do anything until he got back. He frantically ran outside and parked the car before coming back inside and sitting next to Lorelai, filling out the necessary paper work.

_Okay this is easy, just breathe, she's going to be fine. Okay…name…Lorelai Victoria Gilmore…age…37…_

Luke went through the paper work easily and fairly quickly until he got to the medications and medical history section. He gently shook Lorelai who had fallen asleep curled up in the chair next to him.

"_Hey…I don't know some of this…"_ he said softly. She went to take the pen but he stopped her. _"Just tell me."_

"_Um, medications…basic prenatal vitamins…allegra for allergies…medical history…tonsils out at age 6 and then Rory at 16. That's it."_ She said weakly. He finished up the paper work, citing Rory as her next of kin and himself as the emergency contact and turned the papers back into the nurse.

They sat in the waiting room for an hour before she was taken into triage, where the nurse deduced that she was very dehydrated and had a fever of 102.5. The nurse wheeled her back over to Luke in the wheel chair she'd been put in while in triage and Lorelai leaned forward against him. He felt her get heavy as she drifted off again, and dozed off himself for a few minutes before waking up to another nurse calling her name. He shook her awake gently and let the nurse know who she was.

Two hours later Lorelai was still laying in the bed in the emergency room, nothing had been done other than an IV to get fluids in her and her vitals had been taken. Luke was going out of his mind, he hated hospitals and he hated them even more when it was somebody he loved more than life itself sitting in front of him, even more helpless than he felt.

It took another hour and a half for a doctor to come in and check Lorelai out completely, from head to toe. He asked Luke to leave the room for a minute while he finished all the tests they needed to do, and when the doctor came out into the hallway he delivered a message to Luke that stopped his heart.

_No._

Luke crumbled into a chair, with his head in his hands.


	11. Suddenly

**A/N:** Hey guys, so sorry about the ENORMOUS delay of getting this chapter up. Camp was fun, but gave me like no time to write. I'm not exactly happy with this chapter but if I feel so compelled I'll edit it later. I love my reviewers:) 

**Suddenly**

She knew. She'd known before the doctor had said anything. She'd guessed, but somewhere in the back of her mind something kept saying _"Stop it Lorelai. Don't be such a fucking pessimist."_ So she pushed it away, and clung onto hope that it was something else.

It wasn't.

Suddenly her life took a sharp turn to the left and slung all the contents of the car to the right.

She vaguely remembered the doctor giving her a few words of comfort before telling her they wanted to keep her overnight for observation but that she could go home in the morning, and that someone would be downstairs to transfer her in a few minutes. She remembered the door clicking shut and not reopening.

She stared at the wall, numb to everything. She wanted to cry, hell she needed to cry, but she couldn't make herself do it…not yet.

One word, one singular, eleven letter word had brought her world to a screaming halt, and dashed all thoughts and hopes of a blue eyed brunette little girl or boy.

Miscarriage. The word just hurt to think, let alone say out loud. She felt like she was in the room for hours all by herself. The door opened a few minutes later and she heard Luke's familiar footsteps come in and stop.

The door clicked and she heard his breath hitch a little as she felt him look at her. It was only then that she let herself start crying.

All of the sudden nothing in the world mattered anymore. Absolutely nothing. All he wanted was to get back in the room and hold her. As soon as the doctor walked away he did just that, he pushed open the door tentatively and walked in. Lorelai was facing the wall, her body shaking a little, and he could tell she was crying. She was scootched over to where there was ample room for him to sit down on the side of the bed so he did just that. He sat down and reached out and put his hand on her hip. She turned to face him, a little bit of her color back in her cheeks and what seemed like endless rivers of tears flowing down her face and forming puddles on the sheets.

_"It's okay."_ He whispered as she slid over and laid in his lap. She was still doubled over almost in half and it killed him to see her in so much pain. She had a fist full of his shirt and he managed to untangle it from her hand and put her hand in his, which she also held onto for dear life. He ran his hand through her hair and whispered what could be called "soothing" words to her…but right now just seemed dumb and pointless.

He didn't know what to do, other than to sit there and console her. He guessed that was what he was supposed to do.

They sat there, Lorelai still crying as much as she had been and Luke sitting on the bed feeling helpless for twenty minutes until an orderly came to take them upstairs. Luke slid off of the side of the bed and stood helplessly as the orderly helped Lorelai into the wheelchair. He held her hand as the orderly pushed them down the hall and into the elevator and to an observation room on the third floor. Luke assured him he could take it from there, and he helped Lorelai into the bed and pulled a chair up next to the bed.

She was quiet, and Luke was going crazy. He wanted to know what she was thinking, how she was feeling, and most of all just wanted to hold her. She'd flinched at his touch earlier and so he'd stopped trying to do anything other than rubbing lazy circles on her back and counting ceiling tiles.

It was nearing noon the next day when Luke woke up, a crick in his neck from sitting in the chair all night, and Lorelai was still sleeping in the hospital bed next to him. He took in the whole sight in front of him.

She looked incredibly small in the bed, her dark hair stood out in stark contrast to the starched white sheets and the alarmingly pale pallor of her skin. It seemed that in the past 8 ½ hours the light tan she'd managed to keep all winter had faded completely. If it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of the sheet covering her chest he'd have panicked at the thought that she might be dead. He stood up and stretched slightly and ventured into the hallway to find a nurse and find out when he could take her home.

He stopped a friendly, round, grandmotherly type nurse in the hallway.

_"Hi ma'am. I'm with Lorelai Gilmore and I was just wondering when I could take her home."_ He said, still trying to completely wake up.

_"The doctors were in with her this morning at 8, and as soon as she wakes up again and they do one last check she's free to go."_ The nurse said smiling at Luke. _"I'm awfully sorry about your loss."_ She said gravely, her mood switching completely.

He thanked her and walked back into the room to wait for Lorelai to wake up. He didn't have long to wait. She stirred as he entered the room and croaked out a good morning to him. Her voice was shot from all the crying she'd done all night and her eyes were still bloodshot and puffy.

"_When can we leave?"_ she asked, more than ready to get out of the god forsaken place. She wanted nothing more in life at that moment to turn back time and do something different, or to get out of the hospital and stay inside her house for the next nine years.

_"They said they were going to check you again and then we could leave." _He said, gathering up the pajamas she'd been wearing when she came in the night before. He laid them on the chair and attempted to smooth them out.

Lorelai eyed the pajamas warily and then looked away, chewing on her bottom lip. The last time she'd worn those pajamas had been just hours before...and the last time she'd worn them she'd been pregnant.

Just from the look in her eyes, Luke got the memo.

"_I'll run out and get you something to wear. It could be a little bit before we're ready to go...I'll be back in a few minutes okay_?" Luke said, leaning over her and running his hand down her arm. She nodded and he picked up the pajamas and left.

All the images she'd had of a curly headed brunette little girl or boy were suddenly gone from her head. She'd relapsed into thinking about it once and cried herself back to sleep. It wasn't going to happen anymore. She was so lost, she felt empty. She'd only been a little over 2 months along...and she still felt like a huge chunk of her was missing and she had no idea how or if she was ever going to get it back.

Luke came back just as the doctor was finishing up checking Lorelai.

_"Everything looks fine. You're still going to be crampy for a few days, possibly as long as a week. Other than that you could experience some mild spotting...but the worst of all of that is over."_ The doctor said as she wrote some notes in her chart.

Luke cleared his throat, unsure if it was the time or place to ask this question...but he decided to anyway.

_"Were there any other...complications...or anything that could cause problems in the...uh...future...you know...if...like...we..."_ Luke stammered, turning red.

Lorelai snapped to attention. He'd just asked the doctor if it would be possible for them to have kids later on. She hadn't even thought about that...and was astonished to find out he'd been thinking about future kids. She'd kind of thought that after this they'd be no more. She didn't know why she thought that, but she did.

_"Nope, there is no reason that Lorelai couldn't get pregnant again and carry the baby to full term. This was just one of those occurances that sometimes happen with older women, not that you're old, but you're not in your 20s either."_ she said.

Luke thanked the doctor, who in turn told them a nurse would be in momentarily with her discharge papers in order and they could leave. Lorelai sat up as she left and reached for the bag Luke held...clutched would have been a better word to describe how he was holding the bag of clothes. His knuckles were white and it was pressed up against his body like it was a shield fighting off some unseen force that would be afraid of a pair of pajamas with pink and purple polka-dots. He handed it over to her after a few minutes, reluctantly, but he still gave it to her.

_"Do you need...er...want...any help?"_ he asked.

_"I'm fine."_ she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and walking towards the bathroom. The door clicked shut and Luke sat back down in the chair he'd gotten to know on a personal level in the 4 1/2 hours he'd slept in it the night before. The simple phrase "I'm fine" let him know she wasn't, and that she was just the opposite. Of course she was, she'd just had a miscarriage...how could he expect her to be fine? The door opened a few minutes later and she emerged wearing the pink and purple polka-dotted pajama pants and white long sleeved t-shirt. Luke had no idea what size she would be so he'd guessed, and guessed pretty close to right for what she would normally be, but the material of the shirt pulled a little tight through her chest, and he just hoped she didn't notice.

The car ride home was long, after the nurse had come in with the papers and they'd gotten to the car all chatter had stopped...mostly because the nurse had been the only one talking, and it had been a long uncomfortable ride in the elevator with a mother who'd just given birth to twins being escorted down to her car also in a wheelchair. Lorelai had flinched at the sight of the happy family, and diverted her attention to the elevator buttons, as did Luke after offering an empty "Congratulations"

The car ride seemed to take forever, even though it wasn't any longer than it usually was. Lorelai hadn't even bothered to turn on any music and just stared out the window and watched as the trees passed by the car, which soon gave away to highway, and then to the familiar houses of Stars Hollow. Luke pulled the car into the drive and parked in front of the tree just like Lorelai always did, and got out of the car and walked around to let her out...only to discover that she was already halfway out of the car. He shut her door for her and followed her inside.

In the time it took him to put his keys on the table, hang up his coat, and fix her a glass of water, Lorelai had disappeared. He checked the bedroom first and saw her curled up on her side facing away from him.

_"I brought you some water...I'll just leave it here."_ he said, and after a very long pause full of tension he added "_Do you want me to stay?"_

_"I just...I kind of want to be alone right now..."_ she said still facing away from him.

_"Okay, I have my cell phone. Call me if you need anything."_ he said, backing away from her and into the hallway.

Lorelai wasn't sure if it was even possible to put how she felt into words, she didn't even know how to explain it to herself, let alone to Luke. She felt nothing, she felt like she'd lost the ability to speak, to think, to feel. She felt like this shell of a person that would never ever be whole again. She pulled her knees closer to her chest to subdue the mild cramping she was still feeling, and to draw herself further under the blankets. She closed her eyes and willed herself to go to sleep.

Luke stood in the foyer of the new house and just stared, leaning against the door behind him. The house that seemed perfect in size before now seemed massive and almost a waste of space. He climbed the stairs and went into the room that until that moment was going to be the nursery. He stood in the room, hovering near the door as if just stepping into the room would cause the floor to open up and swallow him whole. However, at this point it seemed like that wouldn't be a bad alternative than trying to not only help Lorelai bounce back from this but to bounce back himself.

He watched as the afternoon light spilled in from the two large windows on the far side of the room. It danced across the light carpeted floor in various patterns caused by the leaves from the trees outside the window. They danced playfully across the floor, swirling and twisting and Luke stood mesmerized by them. He stood there, picturing what the room would have looked like if nothing had gone wrong.

Light yellow, she'd wanted light yellow with a border with an off-white background and light pink, blue, and yellow stars. The carpet had been torn out and replaced with light maple floorboards to match the rest of the house and an off white plush rug covered most of the room. A maple rocking chair sat in the corner with a slightly darker yellow and white striped cushions, matching the crib set and curtains. The room had stuffed animals galore in it and it looked comfortable and inviting.

Luke snapped out of the daydream almost as quickly as it had materialized in front of him, and he was back standing in an empty room with dingy white walls and stained white carpet. He turned and left the room and closed the door behind him, and was certain it probably wouldn't re-open for a while.

For the next three days Luke's attention was on the house. Lorelai had gone back to work two days after the...it...happened, and they'd hardly spoken to each other. He'd stayed at the house with her the first two nights, but after sleeping on the couch for two nights because he didn't want to disturb her he'd spent the night before at the diner. He'd seen her briefly when he came downstairs to help with the breakfast rush. They locked eyes as she took her change and then she turned on her heels and left, but not before he could see the hurt in her eyes. He'd stuck around to help with the lunch rush and then left early to go work on the house. In three days he'd managed to get the whole downstairs painted and the kitchen cleaned.

He'd replaced all the hardware on the drawers and cabinets after ripping out all of the shelf paper Anglea had put in and scrubbed everything down. He'd revarnished all of the cabinets and drawers as well, and it looked lived in, but new if that made any sense. He'd scrubbed the build up and filmy mess off of the backsplash and counter tops and they now, as well as all of the built in appliances were actually clean enough to eat off of and cook upon. He'd decided not to replace the boards in the floor, so the flooring he'd have installed in a little while would be made to match the kitchen. After finishing the kitchen and dining room he'd painted the office a dark green like Lorelai had wanted, he just prayed he got the right color. He'd considered spending time in the store getting office furniature but he had opted to let her decide on what she liked too.

He'd spent the third day working on the deck, pressure washing it and starting to sand it down so it could be restained within the next couple of days. He was exhausted and covered in sawdust by the time he called it a night and trudged towards the diner. He let himself in, it was well after closing, and headed upstairs to take a shower. He took a long shower, letting the water pound away at his tired muscles.

Lorelai had gone back to work the day after...it...happened. She'd been out of sorts, but when asked she chalked it up to "female problems" and everyone just kind of left her alone. Mostly she'd sat in her office at her desk for two days and more or less sulked. She'd reconfirmed every single reservation for the next three months, and read several issues of Cosmo and on the third day found she had absolutely nothing to do. Sookie was running around like an idiot trying to get everything ready so she could go on maternity leave.

She never thought there would be a time when she would just resent Sookie...but here she was, sitting at her desk resenting her best friend. Sookie had come in earlier and sat down to talk and run some names by Lorelai to see what she thought. It took everything Lorelai had not to fall apart when Sookie came in, even before she said anything. She was all round and glow-y and excited...and Lorelai was none of the above. Things just got worse when Sookie started talking about the names she liked.

_"So Jackson's favorite name is Owen for a boy and Sarah for a girl...I'm voting no on both of those so I need some ideas." _Sookie rambled as Lorelai intently studied her cuticles. _"My favorites are Noah for a boy and Caroline for a girl."_ she continued.

She kept talking after mentioning Caroline, but Lorelai didn't hear anything. Her head had snapped up and stared at Sookie, her intent gaze almost boring a hole in her forehead.

_"Lorelai? Hello? Are you okay? You look like you're about to kill me."_ Sookie said, waving a hand in front of Lorelai's face.

_"Yeah, no I'm fine. I'm going to go...uh...check on the horses and stuff. It's been a while since I've been out there." _she said standing up and walking briskly towards the door. What she really wanted to say was _"No I'm not okay, I just lost a baby and now you're talking about naming your kid my favorite name. I need to leave before I break you in two."_

Lorelai strode briskly towards the front doors of the inn, keeping her tears in check until she'd slipped inside the stable and slid the door closed. She sat down on a bale of hay outside of Desdemona's stall and put her head in her hands. She didn't feel normal anymore, she didn't think she was supposed to be this depressed. She'd known she was going to be depressed, but she didn't know it was going ot be this bad. She'd known people to miscarry and bounce back right away...why couldn't she?

She leaned back against the stall door and Desdemona stuck her nose in her hair and sniffed it, blowing hot air down her neck. She smiled despite herself and turned around to face Desi and kissed her nose. She stood up and left the barn and walked down the gravel road to her car where she located some pants Rory left in there last time she came home, and an old t-shirt.

"_Luke's,"_ she thought painfully.

She changed in the car and walked back to the barn where she stuck her feet in the boots that one of the girls who took care of the horses had left behind. They fit, sort of, but they'd do. She grabbed a brush and started grooming Desi, she let herself focus on the task at hand and made sure she got every spot before moving onto the next step of grooming. She picked her feet and brushed out her mane and tail and then spied the tack room. It'd been a while since she'd ridden, but she was pretty sure it was like riding a bike...you never really forgot how to do it. She checked her watch, 11:45. She had plenty of time to go out and ride and then grab lunch at the Inn later, no one would really miss her. As much as she hated to admit it, her job was not really unnessecary but it was more or less something she COULD do from home if she really wanted, or needed, to do.

She pulled her keys out of her purse that she'd left by the stall door and unlocked the tack room. The smell of leather hit her over the head and she breathed in a deep breath. It was like the cure to everything, that smell. It made her happy, and made her think of everything but...it.

She tacked up Desi and threw on a helmet, also one of the girls that took care of the horses she presumed, and mounted Desi right outside the barn. She settled into the saddle and picked up her reins. She nudged Desi into a walk and pointed her towards the trail opening. As the big mare ambled along peacefully, Lorelai secretly thanked her parents for making her take riding lessons when she was young.

She remembered how she'd protested when they told her she was going to start riding when she was 9, all she wanted to do was play Barbies and play with the boys, but they'd forced her into it. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday she would pull on her breeches and boots, top it off with a nice polo shirt, braid her hair and then drive with her mother most of the time the 30 minute drive to Parrington Farms where she took her English riding lessons. At first she only liked it because she could get messy as hell and her mom couldn't really do anything about it because riding was dirty and there was no way around it. Then, about three weeks into it, she fell in love. She stayed at Parrington Farms until she was 14 and rode three times a week and showed on weekends from when she was 10 until she stopped riding. Her parents had been so glad she was sticking to something "sophisticated"...they didn't care that she was actually quite good and they never managed to make it to one of her horse show...but she almost preferred it that way.

She turned Desi down the trail marked "Dragonfly Expressway" and instinctivley gathered up her reins. The Expressway was a long strip of fairly straight trail that was the "quick route" to the lake at the back of the property. The trail was the favorite for advanced riders because it was the only place you could gallop on the whole property for more than a few feet. She nudged Desi into a trot and then into a canter, where she sat back and just enjoyed the ride. After a minute or two she collected her reins again and managed to get up into what she remembered her trainers calling "two point" and nudged Desi into a gallop, and they went tearing down the trail. She pulled her up when they reached the clearing and stopped her beside the lake where she dismounted and tied Desi to the hitching rail that had probably been out there as long as the Inn had been standing.

When they bought the Inn they had no idea the lake was even there and then some riders found it one day and after investigating it they had had it dredged and cleaned up a lot and had a dock put in so that guests could come out and sit and fish or swim in the summer. Lorelai left Desi and wandered out onto the dock. She stretched her legs out in front of her and laid down on the dock and stared up at the clouds.

**Hold on Tight, Just Let Go**

The couple of days of the couple not interacting much at all stretched into a complete week...and on the 8th day, Luke had had enough.


	12. Or is this just fantasy?

**A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm 100x sorry it's taken so long to get this together. I've had such major writers block forever. Hopefully now I'll start pumping them out regularly.**

**I'm not going to lie. I was a little drunk when I wrote some sections of this, so if the continuity is weird, blame the Smirnoff company. I've gone back and re-read it and it sounds okay to me, but I was just giving you the heads up **

**Read and review as always! Hopefully the next chapter will be up in the next week or two!**

**Or is this just fantasy?**

_One finger trailed down the edge of the black strap pulled tight across a lightly tanned and freckled shoulder, then deterring to dip and follow the path of a collarbone and then up the other side of the neck and to trace the jaw line. Lips followed the same path of the finger, hot lips with a hot breath that made her shiver. He trailed his fingers along the other strap, pushing it aside to kiss and nip at her shoulder. It continued on its path down and followed the line of the black lace that scarcely covered anything. She arched under his touch, exciting him even more. His lips found hers for the first time in weeks. A jolt of electricity shot through both of them, it felt like the first kiss they'd shared, uncertain but full of want. _

_His hands slid down her sides and rested on her hips, enjoying the silkiness of her skin there, he kissed between her breasts and down towards her navel before kissing his way back up and kissing the hollow of her throat, eliciting a soft moan of pleasure. He pulled her up into a sitting position and she threw her arms around his neck and his hands found the small of her back, dipping into the thin elastic that sat on her slender hips. He looked her in her eyes as she slid onto his lap. They were deep blue and burning with desire, and her lips were red and slightly puffy which went along with her flushed cheeks. He dipped his hands into the elastic again and pulled them down her thighs. As the black satiny material pooled on the bedroom floor he turned his eyes from what any man would be staring at at that point and looked at her. _

_"I need you."_

Luke's eyes snapped open and he groaned as he found he was staring at the ceiling of the apartment. That was the third triple-x rated dream he'd had about her in the past two nights. He was so frustrated, sexually and just in general. He wanted nothing more than to go to her house and jump in bed with her and pretend like nothing had happened. It'd been almost two weeks with them not talking. Not that he hadn't tried of course. He'd foolishly thought that after a couple days she'd come to him, wrong. Of course he could have gone to her but he figured after the cold shoulder she'd given him the times he'd tried to talk to her that she needed time to cope with it by herself. But now, two weeks later, he was over it. He had to see her, he needed to see her.

Lorelai hadn't slept in days. She felt like an emotional wasteland. She didn't feel happy or sad or anything in between. She'd stepped in dog shit on the way to Weston's that morning and she hadn't flinched. Nothing effected her, and she felt like she effected nothing. She caught sight of her reflection in the window at Weston's and grimaced. Her hair hung around her shoulders, lifeless, and the bags under her clouded blue eyes were as big as grocery sacks. It was seldom she bothered with makeup anymore because she was just too fucking tired from tossing and turning all night to bother with it anymore. In the mornings she got up, took a shower, got dressed, and left. Sookie had commented on her appearance a couple times but after the last time and having Lorelai snap at her as hard as she had…she'd given up and had gone on maternity leave a few days earlier. Lorelai had taken to working solely in her office and only coming out to get a cup of coffee every now and then from Manny in the kitchen and to occasionally solve a problem with a guest. But other than that, she'd stayed in her phone and answered the phone and done all of her work from in there. On this particular day she sat at her desk going through the reservation book Michel kept and was entering them into the computer. Michel hated using the computers at the Inn and just kept all the records by hand instead…leaving someone else to do the real work. She was on number 12 of 46 reservations when her eyes drifted away from the computer screen and onto her surroundings. She glanced to her left and caught sight of the picture of her and Luke and Rory from the Firelight Festival the year before. Patty or Babette or someone had snapped it for them on Rory's digital and Rory had it blown up and turned into a black and white and gave it to Lorelai. They were all sitting on a bench with Rory in the middle, both Lorelai and Rory had coffee cups in their hands and all were beaming.

_"We were happy then_" Lorelai thought miserably. She glanced to the other side of her computer where a picture of her and Luke sat. It was one of those cheesy self portraits they'd taken outside one day, Lorelai had held the camera up at arms length away and snapped the picture. She'd missed half of her face but you could tell she was smiling and laughing and you could see Luke kissing her cheek.

Even in the past two weeks she hadn't been able to make herself move the picture. It sat there as a reminder of what she could still have…if she wanted to take it. Luke had come by the house a handful of times, wanting to talk to her and she'd shut him out. Most of the time she'd pretended not to be home and he gave up. He'd caught her outside once and they'd talked…briefly and she made up some excuse to go inside. Now she wished she'd just talked to him.

She sighed and went back to typing in entries when the phone rang. She ignored it and let Michel field it out at the desk, but he paged through on the intercom telling her it was for her, and that she needed to take it before his eardrums burst from the "insipid screeching".

"_Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking."_

"_Hey Lorelai, it's Jackson. Sookie just wanted me to call and let you know she's in labor." _

Her heart dropped.

"_That's great Jackson! Do you guys need anything?" _Lorelai asked, _I should get a Golden Globe for this performance…_

"_I think we're fine right now. Sookie just wanted you to know and the doctors said it could take a while but she wants you to come by in a couple hours, if that's okay."_

"_Yeah that's fine. I'll be there when I get off of work. Call me if anything happens and I need to come sooner."_

"_Will do!"_

"_Bye Jackson, Congratulations again." _

"_Thanks Lorelai, bye."_

She wanted to die. Just shrivel up and die. She laid her head on her hands on the desk and sighed. She had some work to do until she left, and that would distract her from the whole thing until it was time to go. Her eyes lingered back on the picture for a brief second, and she started back to work on the reservations.

Less than three hours later Jackson called to tell her that things were moving faster than the doctor had predicted and they figured they'd have a new baby within the next hour and a half. Lorelai's heart clenched a little when she'd heard his voice, but she yet again faked cheer and told him she'd be there soon. She grabbed her purse, told Michel she was leaving and shut the door on his protests that she was leaving him to run the inn alone.

The hospital was impossibly white. Luke shifted in the uncomfortable plastic seats recalling in detail the last time he'd been in the hospital, just a mere two weeks earlier. He stared at his feet, noting that he needed new shoes, the soles of his well worn work boots were almost worn down to nothing. He really didn't know why he was even there, maybe it was a ditch attempt to see Lorelai because he knew she'd be there…or maybe it was because he was trying to be a good friend…or maybe it was just because he was a sadist. He wasn't sure exactly. All he knew is that he was sitting in a building he couldn't stand being in, was currently staring at his shoes, and that Patty smelled overwhelmingly of coconut.

She parked the Jeep in the hospital parking lot and turned it off. She rested her head against the steering wheel and took a deep breath. She had to be a big girl and suck it up and go in and be happy for her friend on one of the happiest days of her life, even if SHE was miserable.

She walked slowly down the halls of the hospital, her heels clicking lightly on the tile floor. Her purse tapped against her hip as the strap of it sat cradled in the crook of her arm. She stepped into the waiting room of the maternity ward and glanced around. Patty and Babette were conversing in the far corner, Jackson's sister and mother were sitting a few chairs down trying not to look disgusted by what Patty and Babette were talking about. She had just let out a breath of relief when she felt someone looking at her, she slowly turned around as she heard his familiar voice.

"_Hi"_ he said softly.

"_Hey…"_ she said, her breath hitching in her throat. _"What are you doing here?"_

"_I was just asking myself the same question"_ he said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"_Oh."_ She said, taking a seat across from him. She stared at her feet, examining the scuffed soles of her heels.

She looked better than she had two weeks ago, but not much.

_Oh that was an asshole thing to think Lucas Danes. That was terrible. You should get smited just for thinking that. Of course she doesn't look a million times better, she had just had a miscarriage two weeks ago…I'm such a douche. _

When Luke looked up again from his hands he saw that Lorelai had stood up and was picking up her purse.

"Are you leaving?" he asked, quickly jumping to his feet.

"No, just…need coffee." She said, averting her eyes from his gaze and trying hard not to notice that he'd just jumped to his feet the moment she moved.

She could feel him watching her as she walked down the hall towards the nurses station to ask where the nearest coffee machine was. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and locked her gaze on the blue and white sign that read "nurse" ahead of her. She would not look back at him no matter how much she wanted to.

He watched her go, feeling a bit of comfort in watching the familiar sway of her hips as she walked away. It was a sway he'd watched from exactly this spot for 8 years. Well, not necessarily from this particular uncomfortable blue chair in Hartford Memorial Hospital, but from the same unattached and pining position he was in at the moment. He thought he was finally past all this bullshit, this wanting from afar crap that could only suit a suicidal 13-year-old female in a Shakespearian tragedy. He knew she wouldn't find any coffee up to her standards in the hospital and needed to go back to check on the diner anyway.

"_Honey, leaving so soon?_" Patty called from her corner.

"_I need to go check on the diner, but one of you give me a call if anything happens."_ Luke said, surprising even himself with not only showing the fact that he held interest in Sookie's having of the baby, but with that he actually answered her. Patty seemed shocked as well, and he ignored her emphatic whispering to Babette, grabbed his coat and walked out the doors into the brisk mid-March air.

Lorelai returned to the chairs with no coffee and even grumpier and sadder than she had been before. Everything was pastel around this wing of the hospital. The "nice" lady at the nurses desk, "nice" being used in it's loosest context, had told her that the coffee bar down by the gift shop on the main floor should be open. Of course, it wasn't. She had trudged past the gift shop, averting her eyes from the large pink and blue bunnies, the "BIG BROTHER" and "BIG SISTER" buttons as well as the gigantic metallic "It's a Boy!" and "It's a Girl!" balloons amongst other congratulatory items. She stared intently at the floor, the tile alternating in a pattern of white and light gray until she had passed the aforementioned eyesore and was almost back to the elevators. Only then did she look up to press the up button and get in the elevator. It was going to be a long day.

By the time she'd gotten back to the lobby, Luke had left. She felt that familiar tightening in her chest that only surfaced when she missed him, which was all the time now. She sat down and rested her head on one clenched fist and closed her eyes. She could feel eyes boring into her and looked up to find Patty staring at her.

"_Honey? You doin' alright?_" Babette asked innocently.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."_ Lorelai answered back. Technically it wasn't a lie, because she was tired…just not in the way Babette probably thought.

"_Well it shouldn't be too much longer. Jackson came out and said they were moving her to delivery while you were gone."_ Patty informed her. Lorelai nodded and closed her eyes again, wishing everyone would leave her alone.

An hour later Jaycee Katherine Bellville entered the world after putting her mother through only 8 hours total of labor. Lorelai smiled and clapped and hugged Jackson like everyone else. They were informed that she would be in the nursery for everyone's viewing pleasure in about an hour and that visitors would be more than welcome the next day around noon…par hospital rules, not Sookie's.

Everyone crowed and hugged again when the visitation hours were announced and most packed up and decided that they'd just see Jaycee the next day. Soon the only people left were Jackson's mother and sister and Lorelai. She wanted to leave, like everyone else, but she thought as Sookie's best friend and Davey's, and unofficially Jaycee's, God-Mother she should stick around to see the baby.

Luke got back to the hospital almost an hour and a half after he left, thanks to traffic and a minor Taylor incident in the diner. He had a thermos of coffee in one hand and his other was shoved in his pocket. When he got into the waiting room and saw no one was around he was concerned, thinking something might have happened, but when he saw Jackson's mom and sister walking down the hallway smiling and chattering excitedly he assumed that the baby must have arrived. He congratulated the new grandmother and aunt and followed signs pointing to the nursery, where he had been told the baby would be in a few minutes.

He walked slowly down the hallway and his heart fell a little when he saw it was empty.

_I guess she left. I really don't blame her. I wonder which one is theirs…_

Luke peered into the nursery at all the plump babies that were either sleeping or crying. When he finally located the tag that said "Mellville" on it, it was empty. He assumed the baby wasn't in there yet, but would be soon so he turned around to sit in a chair opposite the viewing window and was shocked when he found himself staring at Lorelai.

"_Uh, hi."_ He said, taking a step back.

"_I thought you left."_

"_Nope. Well, I did to go check on the diner, but I came back…obviously. Oh, here. I brought you this."_ He said handing her the thermos. She smiled a little and looked past him into the window.

"_They just brought her in. She's beautiful." _Lorelai said, pointing towards the bassinette Luke had found earlier that now contained a pink bundle.

"_I'm sure she is."_ Luke said, moving closer to the window. Lorelai stepped up next to him and leaned against the wall next to the window. He looked at her as she stared through the window at the dozen or so babies. She looked so incredibly sad he didn't know what he should do. Was this a time to talk to her, or to hold her, or to just let her come to him. He didn't have to wait long.

A second later a tear slid down her cheek and she covered her face with her hands as more leaked down her face. He stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She collapsed into him, burying her face in his jacket and letting all the tears she'd been keeping inside all day, hell for the past two weeks, come flowing out.

"_Let's get you out of here."_ He whispered. She nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and followed Luke out through the maze of hallways into an enclosed garden near the center of the hospital. He sat her down on a bench and sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him and the tears continued to trickle down her face.

"_I'm sorry_." She whispered. He didn't say anything but just squeezed her harder. Even through his flannel and long sleeved undershirt he could feel her hot tears soaking through to his chest. His heart was breaking into a million more pieces than it had already been in as he sat there holding her while she cried.

Neither one of them knew how long they sat there, nor did either one of them really care. When Lorelai's tears subsided and she was left with a faint hiccup she pulled herself out of the crevice of Luke's shoulder and looked at him. He brushed the tears off her cheeks and took her hand. She stared down at their hands and stood up, pulling him with her.

"_We need to talk. But not here. Let's go say bye to Sookie and go home."_ She said softly. He nodded and followed her out of the garden and back through the halls of the hospital back to the maternity ward.

Lorelai knocked softly on the door of room 431 and pushed it open slowly. Sookie was sleeping and Jackson sat in a chair opposite of the hospital bed watching what Lorelai recognized as Lethal Weapon. He looked up when they entered and smiled.

"_Did you see her?" _he asked, beaming like the proud papa he was.

"_She's beautiful Jackson."_ Lorelai whispered trying not to wake Sookie. _"We just wanted to come and say bye. We'll let you guys rest and see you when you guys come home. Friday right?"_

Jackson confirmed that they would be home on Friday. Lorelai hugged him and congratulated him one more time and Luke shook his hand before they left. He and Lorelai walked briskly though the halls of the hospital, both ready to get out of there. They stepped through the automatic doors and a cold March breeze smacked them in the face, causing both of their breaths to hitch a little on the intake. They walked through the parking lot towards both of their cars, they found the Jeep first.

"_So…"_ Luke said.

"_Can you meet me at my house in about an hour?" _Lorelai asked, looking down at her feet.

"_Sure. I'll meet you there."_ He replied.

_I feel stupid just standing here. _Luke thought.

_God I feel like an idiot just standing here. _Lorelai thought. Just as she looked up Luke reached out and took her hand and squeezed it before turning to go to his truck.

_Maybe there's hope_. She thought.

When she got in the car she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and flipped it open to check through her missed calls. That whole no cell phones in the hospital thing was irritating. She had a message and two missed calls from Rory and a missed call from, surprise surprise, Michel.

"_Hey mom, it's me. Just checking in to see how Sookie is and if there's a baby yet! I'm guessing your phone is off 'cause you're in the hospital. Give me a call when you get this. I've got to work on my article for the Daily in the office for a couple hours, but I should be able to answer my phone. Love you. Bye!"_

She smiled. She missed the kid. She dialed Rory's number and held the phone to her ear as she backed out of the parking spot. It rang twice before Rory answered.

"_Hello?"  
_

"_Hey babe."_

"_Hey mom! How's Sookie? Do we have a baby yet?"  
_

"_Yep, Jaycee Katherine. She was born about two and a half hours ago. Perfectly healthy and beautiful. Sookie's doing great, we left her so she could sleep and I'm on my way home now. I'm about to hit a rough patch for reception, so I'll give you a call later. Are you still coming this weekend?" _Lorelai asked.

"_Yep. I'm going to leave tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see you!"_

_"I miss you. I can't wait to see you either, I love you." _

_"love you too. Bye mom!"_

_"Bye babe."_

Lorelai hung up the phone and stared out the window in front of her. It was going to be a long evening.


	13. Handle With Care

**Handle With Care**

Lorelai sat cross-legged on the couch, staring down into her longneck beer, waiting for Luke to show up. She couldn't remember the last time she'd drank a Corona, but she had stopped by Doose's on her way home and it was all that he'd had so she'd bought a six pack and come home. She had known she didn't have any beer in the house, and figured that they'd probably need some to get everything they needed to say out. She knew she would at least.

She took a sip and sat the bottle down on the table and wiped her hands on her pants. She had just stood up to go to the bathroom when she heard a faint knock at the door. She figured it was Luke, and upon opening the door she discovered she was right. She ushered him in and excused herself to go to the bathroom but told him to get a beer out of the fridge, and she'd be back in a second.

He took a seat on the couch after grabbing a beer out of the fridge. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a Corona, nor could he remember Lorelai ever drinking Corona for as long as he'd known her. She'd always been a Heineken kind of woman, and if not a Heineken she'd drank Bud Light, or whatever he'd had in his fridge…but never Corona.

He looked up when he heard her feet shuffle on the floorboards. She was staring at her sock-clad feet and fiddling with the drawstring on the sweatpants she'd changed into. He moved over to one side of the couch and she crossed the room and sat down opposite him against the arm of the couch.

Awkward silence ensued.

_I have no idea how to start. I don't know what to say. How do I tell him what happened and how sorry I am for shutting him out without it sounding completely and totally stupid? Beer. Beer will help._

She reached across and picked up her beer and took another sip. She licked a stray drop off her lips and then traced the label with her finger.

She looked up and her eyes were full of tears threatening to spill over.

_No. I'm not going to fucking cry…yet._

Her eyes drifted towards the ceiling and he could tell she was collecting herself, and trying to keep her tears from spilling down her cheeks before she could talk. He took the incentive and spoke first, uncertain of what to say but talking none the less.

_"Lorelai, I…"_

_"No, wait. Let me talk first. I'm ready now."_ She paused and glanced down at her beer, took a sip, and then put it on the table and clasped her hands in her lap. _"Luke I'm sorry. I've never had something go this wrong in my life and had someone to turn to when it happened. I didn't know what to do. I got scared. I was hurting and all I wanted to do was cry, and know why, and probably hit something hard. Have a real M'Lynn moment and just hit something until it felt as bad as I did. I've lost things before, but never something I wanted as bad as I wanted this…that baby. I've never lost something that was such a part of me, lost as in I could never get it back no matter how hard I tried. I just, I shut down. I shut down and I shut everyone out because I didn't think anyone could make me feel any better or relate to me. I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong I couldn't take looking at myself and I know I was just a complete and total asshole by blocking you of all people out." _She breathed out and took a long sip of beer. Her entire little monologue she'd just so…oddly…delivered had taken her a good ten minutes to get out and Luke was now staring at her. Intently and almost frighteningly.

_"Lorelai. I didn't come for an apology. Maybe I did, and God I believe you when you say you're sorry. But I want you to know there's nothing in this world that could happen to you that you couldn't talk to me about. ESPECIALLY this, God, this has been just as hard on me as it was on you. That baby was just as much mine as it was yours, and that may sound like an asshole thing to say but it's true. I was hurting emotionally just as much as you were, the only thing you had on me was that you had the physical pain and I just had the emotional hurt. I felt like that got ignored, and maybe it did and for good reason because I don't blame you for needing you time. I expected it. But God. Do you know how much it hurt to hear about how you hadn't left the house in a couple days, or to hear from Sookie how awful things had been at work and how bad you looked and being berated by people because they thought we'd broken up again? It was terrible. I know it sounds really selfish for me to just be talking about me right now, but I don't know what else to say. We are supposed to be a team Lorelai, a team. That's two people, not just one. We've managed to survive so much crap in the time we've been together that's been no fault of our own and it's made us stronger as people and stronger together. This is just one more thing that we've got to buckle down and get through together, okay? I want to be here, if you're hurting I want to try to make it better and if I can't I just want to hold you while you cry or while you're hurting or angry or confused or whatever it may be. I want to be here Lorelai. I want to be with you. I need you."_

_I think that's the most I've ever heard him say at once at a non ranting speed. _Lorelai thought, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

_"I need you too. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shut you out. I shut down and when I did I didn't think. That's my biggest character flaw. I'm sorry."_ She said, looking down at her now almost empty beer and finishing off the last of it before looking back up at him. He reached out and took one of her hands in his, and looked down at how well they fit together, his large tanned and callused and hers smaller pale and refined like a lady's hands. He looked back up at her.

_"Let's try and get past this. We can do it. Let's keep going." _He said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

The tears that had been threatening to fall down her cheeks for the past half hour finally poured down her pale cheeks and made wet spots on her sweatpants. She raised her eyes back up to his and smiled.

_"Okay."_ She whispered. He immediately enveloped her in a hug. And like so many other times in their relationship, that was all she needed. They sat there, locked in that embrace as close as they could to each other for what seemed like forever. They only realized the time when Lorelai's stomach gave a distinct rumble as they lay on the couch, her face buried into his chest. She giggled and it vibrated against his chest and stomach.

_"Lets get some food in you."_

_"Coffee?" _she asked, her big blue eyes pleading.

_"Of course."_ He replied kissing the tip of her nose. He stood up and pulled her up with him.

_"I need to change and take a shower before we go anywhere. Can you wait here?" _she asked.

_"I'm not going anywhere."_ He replied, sitting back down and picking up the remote control.

Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror closely for the first time in two weeks. She desperately needed a hair cut, and her faint tan was now completely gone. _Ugh, I look like a ghost. I dunno how Rory pulls it off_. She fluffed her hair and went downstairs, feeling brand new…well improved if not brand new.

Luke smiled as she came down the stairs. That was the Lorelai he knew and loved. Her eyes shone and she was wearing his favorite jeans. His heart sank a little when he realized why she was and could wear them again, but he smiled anyway. They'd probably both still hurt for a while, but the worst was over and the best was yet to come.

**A/N: **

**Okay, I know you're all thinking…"What? No makeup sex? I'm disappointed!". I felt like in this chapter, and I apologize for it being short by the way, that sex would be the easy way out and that if the situation was in real life that a couple that had just gone through a miscarriage wouldn't jump right back in the sack. Who knows when I'll have them get into the smuttiness again, it probably wont be too terribly long but I guess you'll just have to keep reading and reviewing to find out now wont you? Also, I took the opportunity to explore the sensitive side of Luke that I don't think gets shown enough on the show ever. I think he's got a very sensitive side and that shows in some of the things he's said to Lorelai. It may seem out of character, but I don't care. It's my story and I'll write sensitive Luke how I want to.**

**I'm so proud of myself for getting two chapters out in a week, shows I have nothing better to do. **

**ONLY A WEEK TIL THE PREMIERE! AHHHH! So excited. **


	14. Shave and A Haircut

**Shave and a Haircut**

**A/N: Here you go! Three chapters in a week! Damn ya'll are lucky! This one's a bit fluffier than I'd usually do…but I'm nervous (substitute "poofier" for "fluffier" and you get a cookie if you get the reference!). Anyway, fluff galore. I'm still mapping out the rest of the story, but hopefully you're all still liking it! Much thanks to all of my reviewers! I'm so glad most of you were agreed in my decision to not have them have sex in that last chapter. Smut will be soon, I promise. **

**Review review! **

Lorelai opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the bright light streaming in through the windows. She pulled a hand out from under the covers and rubbed her eyes she rolled over and found herself face to face with Luke. She jumped a little at the close proximity of his face and he stirred.

_"Morning. What'd you twitch for?"_ he asked sleepily opening his eyes.

She smiled, "_It's been a while since I rolled over and saw you, that's all_."

_"Ah."_ Luke said, sliding his arm around her and pulling her close to him. She sighed and buried her face in his shoulder.

_God, I missed this. Just being near him and not doing anything at all. He smells like soap and something else I can't put my finger on. _

_This is the way it's supposed to be. Just me and her together, doing nothing at all. She fits perfectly right in my arms. It's meant to be. She smells like coconut and coffee. So random, but just how I like it. _

She smiled up at him and snuggled closer, he wrapped both arms around her and squeezed.

_"Don't you have to go to work?"_ She asked him, taking one of his hands in her and playing with his fingers.

_"I guess. Caesar said he could cover all day if I want him too." _He said, running his free hand up and down her back.

_"Mmm. Don't go. Stay right here."_ She said, mumbling her words into his chest.

"_We have to get up, we can't loaf around all day._" Luke said, pulling away from her a little to look at her.

_"Ugh, I guess. Wait…did you just say loaf?"_ she asked, her eyes shining. He rolled his and sat up and stretched.

_"I'm gonna go make some coffee and breakfast. You take a shower."_ He said, getting up and pulling on a t-shirt.

_"Mkay."_ Lorelai said, stretching out so that her toes were hanging off the end of the bed and her fingertips were grazing the headboard. She made a cat like sound and then got up. She shuffled across the hall into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She examined herself in the mirror and sighed. She needed a haircut desperately and hitting a tanning bed wouldn't be such a bad idea either. She disrobed and stepped into the shower, marveling at how much better she felt even after just spending the night in the same bed with him. She felt lighter after getting everything out in the open and having him not hate her for how she acted. It was nice, really nice.

She wrapped herself up in a robe and walked downstairs to get coffee.

_"You look better."_ Luke said, casting his eyes towards her and away from the pancake griddle he was currently trying NOT to burn pancakes on.

_"Are you implying I looked like crap before?" _

_"No, you just look…in a better mood I guess."_

_"Sure."_

Luke grunted and went back to the pancakes. He finished the last two and put a plate in front of Lorelai and a plate down for him. She'd already made herself a cup of coffee and he grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge for himself. They ate in a comfortable silence. Lorelai was finishing her pancakes and wiped her mouth with the napkin and looked up at Luke.

_"So, I was thinking…I need a haircut. Badly. As you might have noticed. How about I go get my hair done and do all my girly errands and then we can go out tonight?"_ she asked, hesitating to even spend some time apart.

_"Sounds good. Wait…isn't Rory coming tonight?" _he asked.

_"Yeah but not 'til really late. She's got some social function to go to with Logan and then she'll be here around 11-11:30, so that's plenty of time for us to go out and come back." _Lorelai said standing up and putting her plate in the sink.

_"Sounds good. I'll go help Caesar for a little bit while you're off being…girly."_ Luke said putting his own dishes in the sink and running water over all of them. _"We can deal with these later."_

_"Okay. I need to get dressed. Are you still going to be here when I get done?"_

_"With as long as you take to get dressed, probably not. But I'll come keep you company for a little while?" _He said, following her upstairs.

An hour and a half later Lorelai was dressed in jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt with her hair pulled into a messy knot at the nape of her neck. She'd tried her hair curly and straight and it looked like crap either way, so she'd put it up until she got it done at 1 that afternoon. She shoved her feet in her shoes by the door and grabbed her purse and went outside to go to Hartford.

Lorelai wandered around the mall for an hour before her hair appointment. She'd eaten at the Chinese food place at the food court, and now she felt a little gross but that was about right with funky mall Chinese food.

She wanted something new to wear out with Luke, something he hadn't seen her in before, but so far she wasn't having any luck. She wandered in and out of stores until her hair appointment and then set off in the direction of the salon.

Two hours later, Christine was finally finished tackling the atrocity that had been her hair. She shook it out in the mirror and smiled.

_"You my dear woman are a miracle worker."_ She told Christine as she paid at the register. Her hair was now 3 inches shorter than it had been and was laced with warm chestnut brown highlights. Christine had curled it for her and it felt so much lighter and just…better now that she'd had it done. She wandered around for another hour in the mall before she found something to wear, then hit the tanning bed and went home.

She drove home and called Luke on the way, they agreed he'd pick her up at 5:30 to leave to go out. That gave her an hour and a half to get ready, which normally would have had her in a panic but since her hair was already done all she had to do was get dressed and put her makeup on. She parked the Jeep in the driveway and grimaced as it made a weird sound. The car was falling apart. She really needed a new one.

She pulled her bags out of the back and went inside, mulling over the thought of a new car as she let herself inside and got dressed.

About an hour later Luke rang the doorbell, Lorelai yelled for him to come in from upstairs and he let himself in and situated himself on the couch. He heard her shuffle quickly to the stairs and smiled, only when she was wearing heels or socks did she shuffle across the floor, and judging from the distinct couple of clicks he heard, she was wearing heels.

She carefully descended the stairs and he smiled when he saw her. She had her hair loose and curly around her shoulders, he took note of the shortness of it and the new highlights and planned to compliment her on it later. She was wearing dark gray pants and a black lacey camisole that hugged her curves, some of them still more copious than others even though it had been two weeks, and black strappy heels. She smiled when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

_"Do I pass approval?"_ she asked, spinning in a slow circle.

_"You'd pass if you were wearing a trash bag."_ He said, standing up and crossing over to her.

_"Flattery my friend."_ He kissed her cheek and stepped back. _"What about me?"_ he asked, and spun in a similar circle.

She took in his black pants, new she noted, and his blue shirt, also new. He'd shaved and was cap-less like he always was on their dates.

_"You pass too." _She said, smiling up at him.

She grabbed her coat and purse and they went outside, closing and locking the door, he took her hand and walked her across the yard and let her in the truck.

_"So chivalrous."_ She said stepping into the truck. He closed the door.

_"Don't get used to it."_

(Approximately 2 and a half hours later)

_"I can't move. Too full." _Lorelai said, collapsing onto the couch.

_"Well, a three course meal and then two slices of cheesecake will do that to you."_ Luke said patting her leg so he could sit down. She moved it and he sat down and she promptly threw her legs in his lap.

_"It's ten, didn't Rory say she'd be here at 10:30?" _Luke asked. Rory had called Lorelai during dinner and informed her that she'd be a bit earlier than she'd said because the party she and Logan had gone to had wound up being full of a bunch of blue haired biddies so they'd left early and she was going to go pack and drive home.

_"Yep. I should go change. Come with me and make sure I don't fall over or anything."_ Lorelai said standing up and grabbing his hand to pull him up the stairs after her.

She pulled him into the bedroom and he sat on the bed and stretched out to relax while she got ready. She disappeared into the closet and emerged in just a bra and underwear and started rifling through her pajama drawer.

Luke noticed, as she turned to pull on a pair of black track pants, that she still had the faintest trace of a bump and his heart dropped a little. He dismissed it, knowing that he only saw it because he was looking for it.

She pulled out a long sleeved green shirt out of the drawer and pulled it over her head, and instinctively ran her hands over her stomach to smooth it out. She sighed a little.

"_It's still there. I guess I haven't been working out enough."_ She said, her lower lip trembling just a little bit.

"_It's okay. I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't said something."_ Luke assured her, standing up and wrapping her in a big hug. She sighed into him and pulled back.

"_You're too good to me." _Lorelai said. She pulled her hair up in a clip and was checking her makeup when she heard a car horn outside.

"_Rory!" _ She squealed as she took off down the stairs. Luke followed behind at a slower pace figuring he should give her a mother/daughter moment before entering the picture.

Lorelai threw the door open and ran down the steps.

"_EMMA!" _she squealed

"_AURORA!"_ Rory called back as they met in the middle of the front yard for a hug. They squealed and hugged a little before Rory noticed Luke on the porch.

"_Luke! Hey!" _she said as she ran over to him to hug him. He met her half way, as he was already walking towards Lorelai when she started after him.

"_Hey" _he said shyly as she wrapped him in a hug. _"Emma?"_

"_Terms of Endearment. We should watch it."_ Lorelai said, elbowing him.

"_Hey Rory, where do you want this?"_ a male voice said from the car.

Lorelai didn't know what to be more surprised about, the fact that Logan had come with her, or that he was holding a large box wrapped in pastel wrapping paper with building blocks all over it.

Luke and Lorelai locked eyes.

_She doesn't know. _


	15. Keg Parties and the Titanic

**Keg Parties and the Titanic**

**A/N: So, I pumped out three chapters in like a week and a half. I'm so proud of myself. The pace might slow down a little bit with my updating soon, just because this part of the story didn't end up going the way I'd mapped out for it to go…when I wrote it it kinda took a different direction, so now I have to deal with what I added to it as well as the rest of the story line I had in mind. Keep the feedback coming! It's my life source! **

Lorelai and Luke shared another panicked look before plastering on the fake smiles and Lorelai squeezed Rory one more time for good measure.

_"Um, just inside. Put it in the living room, straight in the door and to the left." _Rory called to Logan. He gave Lorelai a hug around the present and shook Luke's hand in a hello before entering the house.

_"It's okay that I brought him right? We're going to stay at the inn, we stopped there on the way in so I hope it's all okay. He just really wanted to see the town again and see the house and stuff."_ Rory said, apologetically.

_"Oh it's fine. You guys can stay here if you want, and you know your room at the Inn is comped if you still want to stay there."_ Lorelai said sliding an arm around Rory's waist.

_"Thanks mom. We just thought it would be…weird…to stay here together."_ Rory said as they went into the house with Luke tagging along behind.

_"I'm sure you guys are exhausted. Coffee?"_ Lorelai asked going into the kitchen.

_"Yeah, that'd be great."_ Rory called to Lorelai who'd gone into the kitchen.

_"Make it two."_ Logan added.

_"I'm going to go help her."_ Luke said, following Lorelai into the kitchen.

Luke turned the corner and almost slammed into Lorelai.

_"Shit! SHIT! What are we gonna do!"_ she whispered harshly.

_"I thought you told her already. Why didn't you tell her?"_ Luke asked, pulling her across the kitchen near the door and out of earshot of Logan and Rory.

_"I was distracted with the whole 'I just had a miscarriage' thing. I didn't even realize I hadn't told her until she showed up. And to make matters worse she's got him here with her and that's just an awkward talk to have with him around."_ Lorelai ranted.

_"Hey, we'll figure it out. We'll figure some way for you to get her alone and tell her, because I'm assuming you want to tell her, and I'll talk to Logan…I think I can figure out something to talk to pretty boy about for a few minutes."_ Luke said, rubbing her shoulders and down her arms.

_"Hey, we like Logan now, remember? And okay. Maybe we could take them over to see the house and I could tell her there?"_ Lorelai suggested.

_"Sounds good. Lets get this coffee in them and then we'll go over there."_ Luke said, pulling out cups for them and a water bottle for himself.

Small pleasantries exchanged later, and Lorelai and Rory were chatting on the couch while Luke and Logan talked by the fireplace.

_"Hey, would you guys want to go see the house? Tom and the guys have gotten a lot done on it and we should be able to move into it in about two weeks."_ Lorelai said, standing up.

_"Sure! I can't wait to see it. I can't even remember what the inside of it looks like. It's been forever since I went in, since the museum closed."_ Rory said, standing up and going to get her and Logan's coat.

_"It's really different now."_ Luke piped up from where he was still standing by the fireplace.

_"Wait, what about your gift! Open it! Open it!"_ Rory chirped. Lorelai's heart dropped a little.

_"Well you guys don't want to get to the Inn too late, we can open it when we get back or in the morning?"_ Luke suggested, knowing that Lorelai did NOT want to open the gift, and that Rory would have enough sense to take it with her when they left for the night.

_"Sounds good. Let's do that."_ Lorelai said a little too quickly. Rory gave her a weird look, but she ushered her out the door. She and Logan piled back into her car and Luke and Lorelai got in the truck.

_"I don't know how I'm going to do this. I mean there's no way to sugar coat it."_ Lorelai said, leaning her head against the window. Luke put his hand on her thigh and squeezed.

_"Maybe this is something you just don't have to sugar coat. You just have to tell her. If we could tell her together I would be with you in a heart beat, but since pretty…I mean Logan…is here someone has to keep him occupied."_ Luke said.

_"I know."_ Lorelai said, putting her hand over his and squeezing. _"I know."_

It took them minutes to get to the house, and they pulled in behind Rory and Logan.

_"Wow, this place is impressive."_ Logan said, getting ready to get out of the car.

_"Wait til you see the inside. It's great."_ Rory said, turning to face him. _"Well from what I remember."_

_"I'm sure it is. Hey are you gonna…_" Logan started.

_"I don't know. Something's up with mom. Maybe you and Luke can talk somewhere about…I don't know…sports? And I can get her away and figure out what's up and maybe…"_ she said slowly. Logan nodded and they got out of the car. He slid his hand in hers and they waited on the porch for Luke to unlock the door.

_"God, this place looks amazing!"_ Rory said, taking in the foyer area.

"_We had all the flooring redone, the last tenants kinda let their kids run wild. The door off that way leads to what will be an office, and then over here is the dining room."_ Luke said, showing them around the bottom floor. Tom and the guys had gotten most of the house done. All that was left for the guys to do was redo the attic rooms and landscape the backyard.

The kitchen had been entirely redone. They'd discovered problems in the fixtures that remained and pretty much everything had been out of date, so they'd overhauled it. The floors had been redone in hardwood to match the rest of the house. The walls had been painted a terracotta red color, and all of the cabinets had been replaced with new maple cabinets and drawers with nickel-plated pulls. There was a new island in the middle of the kitchen with a dark granite top that matched the counters. The backsplash had been replaced with new tiles and had been regrouted. The fridge had been replaced with a new fridge with a fake front that matched the cabinets. It was beautiful. Lorelai hadn't seen it since they'd ripped everything out of it and was floored.

_"God. It's beautiful."_ She whispered, hugging Luke. They walked through the rest of the downstairs and then quickly through the upstairs since it was getting late. They pointed out the room that was going to be "Rory's" for when she was home, and the one that was to be the guest room. Luke reached for the door knob for the nursery but withdrew his hand and told them that room wasn't quite done yet and they shouldn't open the door.

_"Wet paint and new flooring, they just finished up here today. Then there's a big room upstairs that's split in two by the staircase. We're thinking one side is going to be a sewing room and the other side will be another guest room." _Luke said, gesturing towards the staircase.

_"Hey, why don't you take Logan outside and show him the deck? It's pretty and all but I wanna talk to my kid a little bit without the menfolk around, you know, gossip and girly stuff."_ Lorelai said waving her hand around.

_"Sounds good. Logan?"_ Luke said, gesturing downstairs. Logan followed Luke and Lorelai and Rory stood in the hallway until Lorelai heard the backdoor click shut.

_"Let's go in here." _Lorelai said, reaching for the nursery door knob.

_"But Luke said…"_ Rory started.

_"I know, but I wanna talk in here. It should be dry by now and it's new carpet, not new hardwood so the floors aren't wet."_ Lorelai said pushing the door open. Just seeing the room made her heart hurt. The walls had been painted the yellow Lorelai had picked out and the stripes had been painted the lighter yellow that she assumed Luke had picked out. She took a seat in the middle of the room and patted the floor next to her. _"Sit."_

_"Okay…"_ Rory said, a little hesitantly and sat down next to her. _"Mom, what's up, you're acting weird."_

_"Well…no. You tell me. You're up to something."_ Lorelai said. _"You've been kind of quiet all night."_

_"No mom, really, you go first, my stuff can wait. It's nothing."_ Rory said

_"No you go."_

_"No you."_

_"Rory. Just tell me."_ Lorelai said, putting a hand on Rory's knee, adding to the begging for her to go first.

_"Well, uh, the party we went to tonight wasn't just full of old biddies. We didn't even go to a dinner party."_ Rory said, slowly.

_"Where'd you go? Keg party?"_ Lorelai asked

_"Yes mom, I'm almost 21 and I'm still going to keg parties."_ Rory said, rolling her eyes. _"It was a Life and Death Brigade thing, but we left early and Logan took me to dinner at Genivieve's."_

_"Oooh, ritzy." _

_"Yep, and it was this amazing dinner with all this food and amazing dessert."_

_"Mmm cake."_

_"Mom."_

_"Right. Sorry. Continue."_

_"Anyway, he took me to dinner and over a glass of wine he asked me to marry him."_

Lorelai felt like her heart had stopped for the second time that night. She blinked a couple times before opening her mouth, and nothing came out. She'd been expecting this kind of. They'd been dating for a year and a half now and had gotten an apartment together the previous summer…so it shouldn't come as such a shock. But it did.

_"Mom? Say something."_

_"Sorry, I'm a little shocked."_

_"I know. I'm sorry. We wanted to tell you and Luke together, but I thought it'd be better if I told you. I said yes, by the way."_

_"I figured as much. So where's the ring?" _Lorelai asked, feigning excitement. She should be excited for her daughter, really she should be, but she just couldn't muster it for some reason. Maybe it was because her news was such a downer, but she couldn't put her finger on why she wasn't over the moon that her baby was getting married.

Rory fished around in her purse for a second and slipped the ring on and held it out to Lorelai. It was quite possibly the biggest ring she'd ever seen in her life.

_"Holy shit. So that's what sunk the Titanic."_ Lorelai said, grabbing Rory's hand.

_"3.5 carats, platinum band, Tiffany's setting. I about peed everywhere when I saw it. It was in the little blue box and everything."_ Rory said.

_"I probably would have. Congratulations baby."_ Lorelai said wrapping her daughter in a hug. _"Is Logan telling Luke?"_ she asked.

_"I don't know, I don't think so. I figured I'd tell him later, or you could tell him."_

_"I think it'd mean more coming from you."_

_"Okay, I'll tell him later. But now you have to spill about why you're so…I dunno…off."_ Rory said, taking her hand back from her mom who was still examining the big-honking rock on Rory's hand.

_"Um…I don't know how to say this."_ Lorelai said, suddenly very self aware and scared to tell her.

_"Mom, it's me. You can tell me anything. Is something up between you and Luke?"_ She asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

_"No. Nothing's up with me and Luke. The thing is…" _Lorelai hesitated. _There's only one way to tell her and I guess I should just spit it out _she thought. _"The thing is…I'm not pregnant anymore."_ She looked down at her hands and fought the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

Rory looked stunned, she sat there in silence for a minute._ "So you mean…wait. I don't understand. Did you…"_ She gestured wildly, trying to figure out how to finish that sentence.

_"No, God Rory. I couldn't do that. You're sitting in front of me aren't you?"_

_"I still don't understand. What happened? You're healthy, everything was going fine, right?"_

"_It was just one of those things. Nobody can give me a concrete reason. The doctors said it was a risk I ran at my age and that it could have been stress or any other of a bunch of factors. Nobody could give me answers. It's okay, I'm okay…or will be. I should have told you earlier."_

_"Wait, how long ago did this happen mom?"_ Rory asked, still trying to piece together what her mom was saying. She came into the house that night with a present, all excited because she was engaged and about to see her pregnant mother and Luke.

_"Two weeks. I was going to call you, but I didn't know how to tell you. And I was so wrapped up in trying to get over it myself and was in pain and just wanted to go to bed and never wake up again. I hadn't even spoken to Luke until yesterday after I fell apart in the hospital. Sookie's got great timing."_

_"Oh mom." _Rory said, scooting closer and throwing her arms around Lorelai. Lorelai wiped at the tears that had started to run down her cheeks. _"I wish you'd told me. I feel like such an asshole for telling you about tonight now."_

_"No, don't. It's a big night for you, this is just one of those things that happen sometimes. The doctors said it wouldn't effect anything later on down the road…if at some point the decision is made to try again…not that we really tried in the first place."_

_"Is there anything I can do?"_ Rory asked, running her hand through her mom's hair.

_"Just being here is good."_ Lorelai said, straightening up and wiping her eyes. She went into the adjoining bathroom and checked her makeup in the mirror before coming back into the room. _"This was going to be the nursery."_ She said quietly.

_"Here, let's get out of here. I'll take the present with me, don't worry about that. And I'll tell Logan later. God mom, I'm so sorry."_ Rory said wrapping her arms around Lorelai again and hugging her tightly.

_"It's okay. We've got something to celebrate tonight. I think there's some wine at the house, if you guys want to come back and…"_ Lorelai said, squeezing Rory right back.

_"We'll celebrate tomorrow. Right now I think we're all pretty wiped out. We'll go back to the house and get the gift. Wanna do breakfast with us tomorrow at the Inn?"_ Rory asked.

_"Sure. Let's go get the boys."_ Lorelai said, opening the door and going down the stairs with Rory, their arms around each other.

Lorelai opened the backdoor and stepped onto the deck.

_"We're thinking about putting in a pool, not positive on that one yet. I'll be talking to the pool guys this week probably. They said they can get it installed in under a week if the weather conditions are right. There's a Jacuzzi on order for us that we're having installed here on the deck. We extended the deck 8 feet from what it was, and they just finished refinishing all of it two days ago."_ Luke said as the two girls walked out onto the porch. Lorelai slipped her arms around Luke's middle from behind as Rory did the same to Logan a few feet away.

_"Hi." _She breathed into his ear and she squeezed him a little.

_"It's getting late, we should head back."_ Rory said. _"We're gonna pit stop by mom's so I can grab some stuff out of my room and then we'll hit the inn and go to sleep." _

They all nodded and walked out to the cars.

_"Hey, Luke? You think we can walk back to the house together? I haven't gotten to talk to you without mom yapping in my ear for a while."_ Rory said, smiling at Luke.

_"Sure."_ Luke said, a little taken aback. He walked over to the truck with Lorelai and handed her the keys. _"I know you suck at the stick…maybe you should switch with Logan."_

_"Luke I'll be fine. Just give me the keys."_

_"Did you tell her?"_

_"Yeah, I did."_

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah, I'm okay. We'll talk about it at home after they leave okay?"_ Lorelai said, getting a little agitated.

_"Okay, we'll talk about it at home."_ Luke said handing her the keys. She pulled out of the driveway and Logan followed her home in the car. They had been home maybe ten minutes when Luke and Rory showed up, Luke's arm around her shoulders smiling like a proud father. When he got inside he shook Logan's hand and Rory went to gather the "things" from her room.

_"Breakfast tomorrow. Don't forget."_ Rory said as she scooped up the present and headed for the door with Logan in tow. She handed off the stuff to him and hugged Lorelai bye, lingering in the hug longer than she normally would have.

_"You're a lot stronger than me."_ She whispered in her ear. "_I love you."_

_"I love you too kid."_ Lorelai said squeezing her tightly. _"Goodnight Logan, see you in the morning."_

And with that she closed the door behind them and leaned against it. Luke looked at her, concern filling his eyes. He held out his arms to her and she crossed the few steps to him and let him wrap her in his strong arms.

_"My baby's getting married."_ She said, sniffling a little.

_"I know, she told me. That ring is pretty impressive."_ Luke said, smoothing a hand through her hair. He ran his hands down her back and rubbed small circles on the small of her back, swaying slightly.

_"We should get to sleep. I told Rory we'd have breakfast with her and Logan tomorrow morning. If you've got to work it's fine. I can go by myself. And we're supposed to go see Sookie when she gets home. I'm going to need sleep if I have to hold a baby tomorrow."_ Lorelai mumbled into his shoulder.

Luke kissed her forehead and took her by the hand and led her upstairs. She stripped down to her bra and underwear and slid under the covers. He pulled off his shirt, shoes, socks, and pants and climbed in with her in just his boxers. She slid up next to him and buried her face in his neck. In a matter of minutes she was asleep.

Luke was starting to go crazy. He hadn't even kissed her since before the whole thing happened, he didn't want anything else, just to kiss her. But he would be damned if he rushed her. He'd let her take the lead and let him know when she was ready. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting himself be lulled to sleep by her rhythmic breathing.


	16. Love & Hate

AN: So, sorry about the delay. I got a little distracted by the new season...and school...and yeah. No excuses. I'm not exactly thrilled with this chapter, it's mostly fluff and filler. They should be moving into the new house in the next chapter... 

**Love and Hate**

Lorelai chewed on the side of her nail as she, Luke, Rory, and Logan waited on Sookie's front porch for the family to arrive home with their newest addition. Rory and Logan sat on the steps off to the side, snuggled into one another and talking quietly. Luke and Lorelai had sat down on the cushioned bench against the wall and Lorelai was leaned into Luke's shoulder. His arm was wrapped lazily, but purposefully, around her shoulders. He glanced down and noticed her nail biting and shooed her hand away and took it in his other hand. He knew how nervous she was, and how much she didn't want to be here, and had to commend her for being brave enough to come and see the baby. He knew how bad she was still hurting, because he was still hurting too.

Breakfast had gone fine, they'd talked about the new engagement and both Rory and Logan had respectfully avoided the topic of the baby. It had been a pleasant hour and a half spent with her daughter and future son in law. Nothing completely out of the ordinary had gone on and the food had been fine, but there had been a palpable feeling of dread looming over the table and sat concentrated over Lorelai.

Luke squeezed her hand softly and she turned to look at him.

_"I don't know if I can do this."_ She whispered.

_"You can. You're so strong. We'll say hi, see the baby and then go and spend the rest of the day together." _Luke said leaning his forehead against hers. She sighed and managed a faint smile.

_"Okay."_ She tilted her face up to his and brushed her lips softly over his. She realized in that moment it was the first time they'd kissed since the day before she'd miscarried. She closed her eyes and put her face in the crevice between his neck and shoulder and breathed deeply.

_"Mom? They're here."_ Rory said softly a few minutes later. Lorelai took a deep breath and looked at Luke and he stood up and offered her a hand, which she took. Sookie's minivan slowed to a stop and Jackson got out. The foursome crossed the yard, all smiles, to the car. Sookie got out chattering excitedly at the girls and opened the door on her side and extracted Jaycee and her car seat while Jackson got sleeping Davey out of the car. The foursome followed the family inside, where Sookie sat Jaycee down in her car seat in front of the couch.

Lorelai sat down on one side of Sookie and Rory plopped on the other and they both peered over their knees at the sleeping baby.

_"Oh. My. God. Sookie. She's precious!" _ Rory squealed quietly.

Silently Lorelai cursed herself for hoping the baby wouldn't be cute so she wouldn't feel as awful when she held her. Bur Rory was right, the baby was adorable. She was dressed in a little purple onesie that covered her feet and her hands barely stuck out of the sleeves. Her hair, what little of it she had, was very obviously red, and stuck out in a million different directions. Jaycee's little mouth stretched out into an "o" and Lorelai smiled, her heart being pulled in two different directions. She looked up and saw Luke staring at her watching the baby, she gave him a small smile to let him know she was okay and then went back to "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing at the baby with Rory.

Sookie unfastened the car seat straps and lifted the baby out and handed her to Lorelai.

_"Hi Jaycee…"_ Lorelai cooed to the bundle of purple she held in her arms. Her heart hurt so much that she thought it was going to explode. She cradled the baby's head in her hands as she laid her on her legs and bounced her slightly. _"I'm your Auntie Lorelai. Sookie she's beautiful. So tiny!"_

_"Yeah well she didn't feel that tiny during labor."_ Sookie said grimacing.

_"Stop hogging the baby, I want to see her too!" _Rory said pouting in Lorelai's direction.

_"Take a breath, you'll get her in a minute."_ Lorelai said scooping up the baby and standing up. She crossed the room, jiggling the baby a little as she walked. She stood in front of Luke and jerked with her head motioning for him to get up. He stood up hesitantly and she passed him the baby slowly. Lingering for a minute with her hands still under the baby and looked at him. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes but she blinked them away quickly. She took a step back and watched him awkwardly stand there with the baby. She was so tiny and he was so big it was almost comical, Lorelai smiled and crossed her arms in front of her. After a few minutes Jaycee started to fuss and Luke quickly passed her off to Rory who was waiting patiently for her turn.

_"So Jackson's mom told me you guys were at the hospital, how come you didn't stick around?"_ Sookie asked as Lorelai sat back down next to her.

_Shit._ Lorelai thought. She looked at Luke and then back to Sookie quickly.

_"I wasn't feeling that well and decided that it'd be better if I waited until you guys got home to see you just in case I was contagious, but it was just a little 24 hour thing, I'm fine now."_ Lorelai said quickly.

_"Oh good, I wasn't sure and was worried."_ Sookie said, patting Lorelai's knee and yawning.

"_Honey you must be exhausted. We'll get out of here so you can rest." _Lorelai said, standing up

_"Oh, stay! I'm not tired!"_ Sookie protested.

_"Honey you can barely keep your eyes open." _Lorelai said picking up her purse. She gave Sookie a hug and whispered "Congratulations" in her ear as she pulled back and smiled. Luke crossed the room and slid an arm around Lorelai's waist and they started to walk towards the door.

_"SWEETIE! What is THAT on your finger!"_ Sookie squealed, promptly making Jaycee burst into a wail.

_"Another story for another day." _Rory said quickly, grabbing Logan's hand and scooting out the door behind Lorelai and Luke who were already down the front steps.

Lorelai leaned against Luke's shoulder as the foursome walked back to the house.

Rory came up and touched Lorelai's shoulder as they walked up the drive.

_"Mom? Are you okay?"_ Rory asked, rubbing her hand across Lorelai's upper back.

_"I'm fine, or I will be. Don't worry about me."_ She said letting go of Luke and sliding her arm around Rory.

_"Okay, we have to get back to school. I love you, and I'll call you later okay?"_ Rory said, hugging Lorelai fiercely.

_"I love you too. You're the best kiddo. Congratulations again. We'll have to start planning this thing soon."_ Lorelai said squeezing back equally hard.

Luke and Logan shook hands and Logan gave Lorelai a kiss on the cheek as Rory wrapped Luke in an equally big hug as she'd given Lorelai.

The two of them stood on the porch until the car was out of sight, and then Lorelai leaned into Luke and he felt hot tears seep through his shirt.

_"Baby, what's wrong?"_ He asked, kissing the top of her head and running his hands up and down her back. He walked them over to the swing and sat down, letting her melt into him further. She hiccupped and let out a sob muffled into his shirt, he couldn't do anything but hold her and whisper things like "It'll be okay" and "Shh". He felt useless. After a few minutes she pulled back and sniffed and looked at him.

_"I shouldn't hate Sookie right now. I shouldn't, but I do."_ She said quietly.

_"It's okay. You're hurting."_ He said, brushing away her tears with his thumbs and letting his hands linger on her cheeks.

_"I'm tired of hurting. I want to be happy again."_ She said, fresh tears leaving tracks down her cheeks.

_"I know you do. You will be. We're going to be fine and happy and come away and be even better than you can even imagine."_ He said softly, taking her hand in his. _"I promise."_

Lorelai was quiet and she leaned back into him.

_What did I do to deserve him? He's too good for me._

Lorelai pulled back and he squeezed her hand gently. A smile played at the corners of her lips.

_"Thank you."_ She said softly.

_"Thank you."_ Luke replied, pushing the hair out of her face with his free hand.

She cupped his cheek with her free hand and stroked his sideburn down into the three day scruff on his cheek with her thumb. She leaned forward and stared into his eyes. They'd found themselves gazing into each other's eyes so many times before. But this time it was different.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, and squeezed the hand that had been resting on his leg and laced his fingers with hers. She closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath and as she looked back into his eyes he saw the threat for the tears to overflow again. One tear slid slowly down her cheek and he shifted and kissed it away as it reached the crest of her cheekbone.

She shivered as he kissed away her tears. _Not just any man does that._ She thought. He nuzzled her nose softly which made her giggle. It was something that he only EVER did in private and it was one of her favorite things, well one of her favorite non-sexual things, he did.

She smiled at him and pressed her lips softly to his, still stroking his cheek with one hand. She pulled back after a few seconds.

_"I need to check in at work. My mind hasn't exactly been in the game there since…"_ she said quietly.

_"Okay, you go. I should go by the diner anyway."_ He said, standing up and pulling her up by her hand.

"_I'll come by after I check everything out. I should call Rory, I was kind of caught up in everything and didn't get to really talk to her."_ She said as she walked towards the door, his hand in hers.

_"Okay. We'll figure out what to do tonight when you get to the diner, if you want to do anything that is."_ He said, clarifying quickly.

She smiled. _"Okay."_

She reached up and let her arms circle his neck, and she kneaded the skin there with her fingers a little before taking a step closer to him. He slid his arms around her waist and let them rest on her hips. She stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips against his again. He pulled her closer to him and they stood there, locked in the most innocent of embraces they'd ever had on that front porch.

There was no rush to it, it was just a silent exchange of how incredibly much they were in love with each other.

After a few minutes she pulled back and brought her hands to rest on his chest. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him.

_"I love you."_ She said, playing with the collar of his shirt.

_"I love you, too" _he said, leaning down and pecking her on the lips again. _"I'll see you in a little bit. Okay?"_

She nodded and kissed his cheek and he left. She went inside and got her purse and phone before going out to her car to go check on the inn.

She parked her car in the parking lot of the Dragonfly and hurried up the walk, anxious to check out everything and get back to Luke. They had so much talking left to do, and she already couldn't stand being away from him for long periods of time.

_"Lorelai! Well I just thought you'd up and left us! I hope all's well with you!"_ a voice said behind her as she walked towards the kitchen.

_"Hi Tobin."_ She said, turning around and smiling and hugging the boisterous man. _"Where's Michel?"_

_"Oh I told him to go ahead and go home. He was particularly mean today and I was just over him. O-v-e-r him!"_

_"Well that's good. Anything going on that I should know about? I just stopped by for a few minutes to check on things."_

_"Everything's fine, nothing new to report around here. We're at 90 occupancy for the next three weeks, so business is just booming!"_

Lorelai didn't know how much more she could take of his incessant cheerfulness, yes she was in a good mood but there was still a limit as to how much Tobin anyone could take.

_"Okay Tobin, I'm gonna just grab some stuff out of my office to take home and look over and then I'll be out of here. Give Michel hell for me tomorrow morning before I get in."_

_"Will do!"_

Lorelai unlocked her office and grabbed the files she'd been working on the day Sookie had gone into labor off her desk and locked the office back. She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed Rory's number as she walked outside.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey kiddo."_ Lorelai said, getting comfy in one of the chairs under the big Oak to the left of the Inn. _"Whatcha up to?"_

_"Nothing really, I've got some reading to do for my Writing for Broadcast Media class but that's about it, we just got back like 5 minutes ago. What're you doing?"_

_"Just came by the inn to check on things. I just wanted to call and talk since we didn't really get to this weekend." _

_"Oh mom, it's okay. You were wrapped up in all the stuff that was going on, I understand."_

There was silence on both ends of the line for a few seconds.

_"Hey mom?"_ Rory started, hesitantly

_"Hey what?" _Lorelai quipped back

_"Um…I….How did…never mind." _Rory stammered

_"It's okay. I think talking about it makes me feel just a little bit better."_

_"Mom we really don't have to if you don't want to."_

_"No kid, I do. You're my best friend, you deserve to know and I should have filled you in on all of it earlier."_ Lorelai said, her heart jumping up to her throat just a little bit. _"It started the night after we painted the master bedroom at the house….oh God Rory it was awful. I hope you never ever have to go through it…"_

Almost two hours later Lorelai entered the diner, taking her customary seat at the counter. Luke came out of the kitchen a few minutes later, wiping his hands on his jeans.

_"Hey"_ she said, leaning her elbows on the counter. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

_"Hey. How was the inn?"_

_"Fine, Tobin's been working a lot. I'm thinking about promoting him to Michel's position and making Michel a general manager…gotta talk to Sookie about that first though."_

_"Did you talk to Rory?"_

_"Yeah, I did. It was good. She asked about…it…and we talked about it and then a lot about the wedding. She told my mother on the ride home and she's already freaking out with plans…but she told her she doesn't want her help and that she wants to plan it herself. To be a fly on the wall when my mom got that bombshell dropped on her. But…"_ Lorelai paused.

_"But what?"  
_

_"The Huntzbergers' are demanding to pay for it. They're not going to get away with not having the wedding of the year…she wants me to help with planning it but I don't know. I've never even been to a wedding with literally no budget."_

_"It'll be okay. You've got a while before you even have to start thinking about that."_ Luke said, squeezing her hand that was laying on the counter.

_"Yeah. I'm gonna go home and change and stuff. I'm really tired. Will you bring me food later?"_ She asked, batting her eyes at him.

_"Of course. I should be done here in an hour or so."_ Luke said, wiping off the counter.

_"Okay. See you at home." _She said leaning across the counter and kissing him softly.

She left the diner but didn't go home. She took a detour and parked in the driveway of the new house and stared up at it taking it all in. She went inside and stood in the foyer, shoving her hands in her back pockets and taking it all in. The interior was almost done. Tom's crew had to finish painting the attic rooms, finish glassing in the porch off the deck, and install the hot tub and then they'd be done. The pool guys were supposed to start within the next two days and the landscaper was going to come in to do the yards as soon as they got the pool in.

_It's really happening. _

She ran her hand along the bottom of the banister of the stairs and walked through the ground floor, listening to her heels click against the hardwood flooring.

_We'll have Christmas and Thanksgiving here this year._

She walked into the kitchen and ran her hand along the granite counter tops and stared out the big bay windows in the breakfast nook into the backyard. Right now it was not much to look at, but she could still picture the final product. The pool would be just off the left side of the deck, the rest of the yard would be re-sod and they'd have flowers in the flower beds. The backyard was huge. She wanted to put a hammock out back somewhere so there'd be somewhere to nap and read during the summer, and to sit wrapped up in a blanket drinking hot chocolate or coffee in the winter. There was more than enough room for a play set if they ever needed it.

_Ouch. _

She rubbed her arms and then turned on her heel and walked back towards the front door, out of the house, and to her car.

When Luke got home he found her curled up on the couch watching A League of Their Own. He slipped out of his coat and crossed to the couch where he saw she'd fallen asleep somewhere around the try out scene judging from how deep asleep she was and how far into the movie she was. She was wrapped in a blanket up to her chin and her curls were splayed all over the pillow, a couple falling onto her face and feathering around as she breathed in and out.

He smiled. She looked like a little girl wrapped in the huge blanket. He sat down in the space on the couch left in the space in front of her stomach from the way she was curled up. He reached over and brushed the curls out of her face and tucked them behind her ear, letting his hand trail across her jaw. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her temple. She sighed softly in her sleep and stirred. Her eyes blinking open as she slowly rejoined the world of the awake.

He loved her eyes when she woke up. The only other times they were that blue was when she was exited…in both connotations of the word. But there was something different about her eyes when she'd just woken up, they were bright but cloudy, as if she was still trying to shake away whatever pleasant dream she'd just left behind and focus on the world in front of her still half in dream land.

_"Hi"_ she croaked, her voice coated in the hoarseness of sleep.

_"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you up."_ He said. She leaned into the hand he'd left on her cheek.

_"I should get up anyway. If I sleep here I'll hate myself in the morning. And, I'm hungry."_ She said, stretching out her legs and making a scrunchy face as she stretched out her sleep-tensed muscles.

_"I brought you a burger."_ He said, her eyes drifted towards the coffee table.

_"No food for you?"_ She asked

_"I ate before I left. But I'll watch you eat."_ He said

_"That doesn't repulse you?"_ she chided. She sat up and grabbed the bag. Luke went into the kitchen and returned with a beer for himself and a water bottle for Lorelai. She took it and smiled and dug into her hamburger. Things were starting to return to normal, slowly but surely.


	17. Sex on the Floor is Bad For Your Back

**AN:** So I'm sorry about the lack of updates lately. I'm trying.  This one is more fluff but drives the storyline I'm still working on (you thought the miscarriage was the end? Ha. You jest!) a little bit futher 

**Sex on the floor is bad for your back**

Two weeks later in the wee hours of the morning, daylight was just barely streaming through the windows when Luke woke up. He smiled when he noticed that most of Lorelai's body was covering his own. Her head was resting on his chest along with her left hand, and one of her legs was thrown across his. Her hair was all over the place and some of it was on his face. He brushed it away and tucked it behind her ear. She stirred as he rand his hand through her hair and she shifted, tilting her face up towards him. He froze; it was much to early for her to get up.

She opened her eyes and blinked slowly. She wrinkled her nose and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

_"What time is it?"_ she asked, her voice husky with sleep.

_"Early. Go back to sleep."_ He said, kissing her forehead.

_"Mmmmkay."_ She said, burying her face back into his neck. She mumbled something incoherent into his neck.

_"What?" _he asked.

_"Happy moving day." _She said again, kissing his neck lightly as she drifted back to sleep.

It still amazed him that in as little as a few months they'd managed to get all the renovations on the house completed. Tom's team was awesome and incredibly efficient. It also helped that Luke took care of some of the smaller projects himself. The landscaping in the back yard wasn't quite done due to the pool taking a little longer to finish because of rain. He slid his arm around Lorelai and ran his hand up and down her t-shirt clad back. They were moving into their house later on that morning, and they should be sleeping in their brand new house by that evening. A lot of the purchased furniture would be delivered around lunch, and until then they'd be moving clothes and dishes and other various items they'd spent the past two weeks packing up over to the house.

Luke smiled. Even after being together for going on two years, not including their two little mini-break ups, he felt like this step was a big one towards spending the rest of their lives together. Now they were taking their lives and melding them into one. He'd get to come home from work every night to their house, and have her there waiting on him…or at the very least have her coming home to him when she worked later than he did. He closed his eyes and let himself drift back off to sleep for a couple more hours.

"_Luuuuuke. Get uuuuup. It's moving day!" _Lorelai said, bouncing on the bed a little. Luke opened his eyes slowly and rubbed them with the back of his hand.

_"Going back to sleep was a bad idea."_ He said. He'd slept three and a half hours since he'd woken up to find himself under a blanket of Lorelai and it was now 8:45, a respectable time to get up according to Lorelai.

She looked like a giddy six year old ready to open presents on Christmas morning. Her bed-head was wilder than he'd seen it in a long time, her curls pointing in every single different direction and falling all in her face. Her huge t-shirt swallowed her hole and made her look even more like a little kid. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a sitting position.

_"Get up! Get a shower! We gotta start moving!"_ Lorelai said, bouncing again.

_"You shower first. I'll make coffee."_ He said, Lorelai quickly showered and put on jeans and a light long sleeved t-shirt. March was beginning to morph into April and it was warmer outside, but still on occasion the wind blew past with a slight nip to it. She stuck her feet in socks and tennis shoes and went down to the kitchen.

_"Not going to shower?"_ she asked, coming up behind him and sliding her hands around his waist. She leaned into his back and rubbed lazy circles on his chest where her hands had wound up.

_"There's no point really. I'm just going to get sweaty while we move stuff in anyway, so I'll just take one later."_ He said. Lorelai wrinkled her nose, but assumed there was some method to his madness and gladly accepted the cup of coffee he had in his hands when he turned around.

She drank her coffee while he went upstairs and changed. She looked around at the parts of the house she could see from her chair at the table and smiled. She had thought she'd be sad to be leaving, and she was a little. But she also knew this was the beginning of something huge for the both of them…and she couldn't wait to see where they wound up.

"_Ready?"_ Luke asked, snapping her out of her day dream. She nodded and rinsed out her coffee cup before putting it in a box with the rest of them.

_"Lorelai!"_ Luke reprimanded her sharply.

_"Whaaaat?"_ she asked, turning around putting her hands on her hips. _"We're going to have to wash them all anyway when we get there. They'll have box all over them."_ Luke threw up his hands and went and opened the front door.

_"I'll get some boxes!"_ she called as she went into Rory's room. They were going to empty the bedrooms first, then the kitchen, and then everything else so that at least they could sleep at the new house tonight if they didn't get everything moved over. It wasn't crucial that Rory's things be moved so early, but Lorelai didn't want to leave her stuff behind.

She picked up the first box she saw and grimaced at the weight. _Books_. She carried it out to the front yard where she passed it off to Luke.

_"God, what the hell is in here? Rocks?"_

"_About 1/80th of Rory's books."_

"_Ah. Hey, don't pick up any more of the heavy ones. Let me do that."_

"_I'm not an invalid Luke."_

"_I know, but still, don't strain yourself okay?"_

"_Okay I promise"_ she called as she went back into the house. She stacked two smaller boxes on top of each other and carried them out to the truck where she stacked them in the passenger seat.

Slowly they managed to empty Rory's room of boxes and get them all into both cars.

"_At this rate, it's going to take at least 5 more trips."_

"_Well we have all day."_

"_Good point."_

They drove the cars over to the house and parked in the street so that the delivery guys could park in the driveway to unload the furniture. Lorelai grabbed two of the smaller boxes out of the back of the Jeep and carried them up to the door, which she unlocked, and then inside.

"_Hey! Should we put this stuff in her room or wait until we get the furniture in there?"_ Lorelai called out to Luke who was coming up the walk with one of the boxes of books.

"_Just go ahead and throw them in the room. She doesn't have that much furniture to bring over so it should be fine."_ Luke said. Lorelai picked her boxes and deftly climbed the stairs. From what she could see the house looked amazing. She'd been back once in the past two weeks while they were painting the office and replacing the banister, but she hadn't seen the house in completion yet. She pushed open the door to Rory's room and sat her two boxes in the corner. The room was a soft blue with lighter carpet that would work well with the stuff already in her room. An entire wall was made up of a built in desk and built in bookshelves to house the books she'd left at home.

Luke came in and sat his box against one of the bookshelves and jerked his head towards the door.

"_We've got a lot more to unload."_

"_Do you think she's gonna like it?"_ Lorelai asked.

_"She'll love it."_

"_I mean I know she's not going to be here much, especially now that she's getting married but…she needs her own room when she is home."_ Lorelai said.

"_I know, and if I didn't agree I wouldn't have had them build the bookshelves."_ He said, taking her hand to lead her back out to the car to unload more boxes.

By noon when the delivery guys came they'd managed to get the majority of the boxes from the master bedroom in the old house transferred into the new one. The truck the delivery guys brought was huge, but Lorelai guessed it had to be with all the new furniture they'd bought for the house. Lorelai was certain they'd put themselves in debt with all the purchases but Luke had assured her they hadn't. She delegated where things went downstairs as Luke delegated upstairs.

The movers brought in the office furniture first, the huge wrap around desk and desk chairs fit perfectly into the room. They leaned the large mirror for the entryway against the wall in the office so that it wouldn't get broken in all the hustle and bustle.

The bedroom furniture was Lorelai's favorite. She and Luke had spent hours searching for the perfect set in furniture show rooms in both New York and Connecticut before finding it in a small chain outside of New Haven. The bed was a huge king sized four poster bed in dark walnut, so dark it was almost black. All of the accent pieces were identical in color and all fit into the room beautifully. They'd had yet another built in bookcase installed in one corner of the room along the wall of windows. The movers brought in all the basic bedroom furniture and then the chairs and rug and small table for the "reading area" by the bookshelf. They'd probably only use it a handful of times but it was still nice to have. Lorelai smiled as she looked around the room. Once all of their things were put in it would look even better. She had bought a brand new comforter set to go with the new bed and she had made new curtains to go in the room. She'd made the curtains for a lot of the rooms actually.

The dining room was a different story than the rest of the house, it already had their "new" dining room table and chairs in it but they hadn't been brought in with the moving crew. Luke had revealed to Lorelai a few days earlier that he had his family's old dining room table in storage and that it was in good condition, and asked if she wanted to use it in their house. She'd said yes on the spot, not caring what the table looked like because it'd add even more sentiment to the house.

The table worked perfectly with the house, it was a dark maple, beautifully crafted and carved and the chairs matched. It would work great for any dinner parties they chose to throw and big family meals thanks to the 10 chairs that surrounded it. Lorelai couldn't fathom why a family of four had had such a large dining room table, and Luke hadn't really had an explanation either, but they had the table and here it sat.

Two hours later they had signed the delivery papers and tipped the boys handsomely. Luke was standing in the foyer obviously in deep thought when Lorelai walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"_Hmm?" _he asked, jarring from his train of thought.

"_We've still got stuff to get back at the house if we want to stay here tonight."_ She said simply.

_"I know, lets go get this done."_ He said smiling. They set off back to their cars to make their fourth trip of the day to get more boxes. Lorelai loaded the rest of the bedroom boxes into the Jeep along with all of their bathroom things, towels, and the new linens for the bed. Luke managed to get all of the kitchen boxes in the truck and a few random ones from the living room, most of them full of pictures and knickknacks.

They unloaded the cars back at the house and Luke set about unpacking the kitchen while Lorelai worked on the bedroom.

She cut the plastic off the mattress and laid out the mattress topper and mattress pad before spreading out the crème colored sheets across the mattress. She ran her hand over them, smoothing them out, and tucking them in tightly. She'd had the thought to wash them the day before so they smelled okay to sleep on. She pulled the big satin chocolate brown comforter out of the box it had come in. She spread it over the bed and ran her hand along it. It looked great with the bedroom set, she had known that it would. She stuffed the pillows into the new pillow cases and sat them on the bed in the proper order. She unpacked all of their bathroom stuff into the bathroom, piling towels in the linen closet and putting their shampoos and soaps and other various shower items in the shower. She pulled a black and white picture out of the box and sat it on the counter and smiled.

She'd seen so many people with pictures of their kids in the tub in black and white in their bathrooms, so she figured they needed one too. The picture was of Rory when she was just old enough to enjoy a bath. Bubbles covered her pudgy little legs and her hair stuck straight up in a sharks fin type deal. She was laughing and clapping her hands, and Lorelai thought it looked perfect on the counter. She put the rest of the bathroom stuff where it went and then set about unpacking the rest of the room, and putting the curtains in the windows and books on the shelves.

It only took her another forty-five minutes to unpack everything and the last touch she put on the room was a copy of the picture of the two of them on her desk at work on the bookshelf along with some pictures of her and Rory. She smiled and pushed the door to the bedroom open and wandered into the kitchen.

"_Hey, I ordered pizza. I was out getting the last box out of the truck and met Joe in the driveway. I was just about to come get you. All done?"_ he said, putting the pizza boxes on the counter.

"_Yep. Our room is now ready to be slept in." _She said, opening the boxes. _"Mmm yummy."_

Luke reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine, and then pulled two freshly washed wine glasses out of the sink.

"_Why Mr. Danes, when did you become such a wine fan?"_

"_I didn't. But you like it. And this occasion calls for wine."_ He said, setting the glasses on the counter. She pulled two plates out of the cabinet, after being pointed to which one held the plates by Luke, and she motioned for him to follow her. She carried the plates and pizza out onto the deck and sat them on the glass patio table that had been delivered with the rest of the furniture that day.

"_Good choice."_ Luke said, sitting the wine on the table. She went back inside and grabbed two water bottles for them to drink with the pizza.

"_We'll save the wine for after."_ She said.

He nodded and pulled a chair out for her and took the one next to her at the head of the table. She pushed open the first box of pizza and pulled out a slice. _"Hey now, slow down."_ He said as she stuffed what looked like half the slice in her mouth.

"_Sorry, starving."_ She said through a mouthful of cheese.

They ate slowly, talking about the house and what they still had to unpack and do over the next couple of days.

"_The pool guys are coming to fill the pool tomorrow." _Luke told her.

"_Can't we just stick a hose in it?" _Lorelai asked

"_No. They have to do a whole bunch of chemical type stuff to it. You'd think we could just stick a hose in it."_ He said, cracking a smile at her.

They finished off their respected slices and Lorelai stood up and walked over to the railing of the deck. She leaned against it and looked out over the yard, drumming her fingers against the railing.

"_Penny for your thoughts."_ Luke said behind her, she turned around slowly and smiled. She hoisted herself up on the railing and then took the wine glass he held out to her. She moved so he could slide up in front of her and rest his elbows on her thighs, holding her securely around her back.

"_Are you concerned for my safety or are you using this as an excuse to cop a feel?"_ She asked, grinning coyly.

"_Mmm both."_ He said after a minute or two of consideration. _"So what were you thinking about?"_

She pursed her lips and took a sip of wine. She sat her glass on the railing and ran her hands through his hair, playfully messing it up. _"I was just thinking about today."_

"_What about it?"_

"_Just that…we're in our house. Not my house or your apartment, but our house. It's just a little…weird."_

"_Good weird or bad weird?_

"_Is there such a thing as a good weird?"_

"_I think so."_

"_Good weird. Definatley good weird. Well not even weird, just different…in a good way."_

"_I concur."_

Lorelai leaned foreward and rested her forehead on top of his head as he languidly slid his hands up and down the outside of her thighs.

"_I am so stinkin' tired."_ She mumbled into his hair, and then lifted her face to rest her chin on his head.

"_Me too. And…this is only comfortable for one of us and it isn't me."_ Luke said, moving out from under her. She finished the last of her wine and hopped off the railing when he moved away.

"_I'm gonna take a shower and then we get to sleep in our room for the first time."_ Luke said, picking up the pizza box. Lorelai grabbed the cups and plates and carried them all inside, stacking the dishes in the sink before going back outside and getting the wine bottle. She put it in the fridge and then went into the bedroom.

She heard the water running in the bathroom, a little bit of steam filtering out from under the door, and resisted the urge to go jump in the shower with him.

She knew if it were possible to die from a lack of sex, she and Luke would be the first to go.

She suddenly had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea, if she did say so herself.

She scurried into the closet and dug around in a box marked "Lorelai's Junk" in Luke's familiar scrawl. After a few minutes of careful searching she found exactly what she had been looking for. She pulled a blanket out of another box and, checking that Luke was still in the shower, she spread it out on the floor in front of the fire place and proceeded to try and build and start a fire in it.

Luke had been in the shower for a solid twenty minutes when he realized he should probably save some hot water for Lorelai. He stepped out of the shower, dried off and pulled on the clothes he'd brought into the bathroom with him. He ran the towel over his hair a couple times and brushed his teeth before pushing the bathroom door open. He almost lost it in laughter at what he saw when he stepped into the bedroom.

Across the room was Lorelai, dressed in nothing but a tiny blue teddy, matching panties, and a smile probably, bent over trying to light the fire in the fire place. He stifled a laugh and then walked into the room.

"_Need some help?" _He asked, making her jump.

"_Augh dammit. I was trying to be all romantic."_ She said, stamping her foot in frustration.

"_Here. Let me."_ He said, crossing the rest of the way towards her and taking the lighter out of her hand. He crouched down and lit the fire within a few seconds.

"_Well I got it warmed up for you."_ She said, putting her hands on her hips.

"_Sure. Now what's this,"_ he said gesticulating wildly with his hands, _"all about. Not that I'm complaining but…"_

"_It's just…our first night here. I want it to be special." _She said, biting her lip and ducking her head.

"_It's going to be special anyway. We're in our house. In our bedroom."_ He said, reaching out a hand, which she took, and pulling her closer. _"We could have gone straight to bed and tonight still have been special."_

"_Softie."_ She said under her breath.

"_Sorry, I didn't catch that."_ He said, tickling the sides of her ribs where his hands were currently.

She broke into laughter, squirming and trying to get away. _"Okay okay! I'm sorry!"_ she cried. He stopped tickling her and cupped her face with both hands. She leaned her cheek into his hand and sighed. She stood on her toes and lightly smushed her lips against his. His hands slid down from her face and rested on the curve of her hips, his thumbs rubbing idle circles just above. She snaked her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his still damp hair.

He pulled back from the kiss and stared at her.

"_Sure you don't wanna shower first?"_

"_Positive. That'd be pointless cause…"_

"_I walked right into that one. Don't even." _He said, pulling her back in for another kiss. She slowly lowered herself down to the blanket, forcing him to follow her. He laid down beside her and stroked her side while the kiss intensified. She nipped at his lower lip before pressing her tongue into his mouth, ellicting a soft moan from both of them. One her her hands traced the line of his jaw while the other one rest on his chest.

The feel of the satin of the teddy rubbing up and down her side on top of the feeling of Luke's hands on her was driving her up the wall.

Luke wanted to rip her clothes off and have his way with her right there, but he knew it was in both of their best interest to go slow. She slid her hands up his shirt and pulled back so he could put his arms over his head and she could pull the shirt off. She threw it haphazardly across the room and her hands immediately went back to exploring his chest, drawing random patterns across his pecs and her fingers twirling through his light smattering of chest hair.

He started to slide his hands under her teddy and stopped himself. He pulled back from where he'd been teasing her neck and stared at her.

"_Hey…" _he said

"_Hi…."_

"_You're sure. Right? We don't have to. You know that."_

"_I know. I'm sure."_

He smiled and went back to what he was doing. He pulled her teddy off over her head, leaving her clad only in the matching teal sorry-excuse for panties. He kissed down her neck and across her clavicle and then down her chest and to her belly button. He kissed in a circle around her belly button, blowing a soft raspberry on her stomach making her giggle. He looked up and smiled at her. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him up to kiss him again, lips immediately parting and tongues dueling immediately.

She slid her hands down his chest and pushed them past the elastic waistband of his sweatpants. He slid out of them and kicked them across the room, the rest of their clothes soon following.

They flipped at some point during the removal of all of the clothing. Lorelai grinned wickedly as she ground her pelvis against him, enjoying the moan that escaped Luke thoroughly. She slid slowly and seductively down his body, letting his mind wander just to the brink of what he thought she might be doing, and then suddenly reversing direction and grinning wickedly.

"_Tease."_ He muttered before shifting and rolling them over again. It was his turn to play dirty. He slid his hands slowly down her arms and then moving to her hips slid them back up to her breasts. He simply rest his hands on them like a young teenager freaked out by the thought of touching his girlfriends boobs for the first time. He dipped down and kissed her soundly before kissing his way across her jaw and nipping and sucking her skin down to the hollow of her throat. She moaned and arched her back, pushing herself into his hands.

"_Bossy."_ He said, kissing her again and then finally relenting to getting down to business. After a few minutes she wrapped one of her long legs around his waist and he brought his gaze back up to hers. They locked eyes and both knew at that exact moment there was no more time for foreplay.

They lay there, both sprawled on their backs, still breathing hard and trying to catch their breath.

"_Uh…wow?"_ she panted, rolling over to face him, her hair plastered to her neck and sweat running down her chest. Luke grunted in response.

"_Oh, that's all it was to you? Worth a grunt?"_ she said feigning disgust and anger.

"_Can't…sentences…aughhhhhh…."_ He retorted.

She grinned and rolled over on her side to face him and dance her fingers up his chest.

"_You're amazing."_ He said, catching her hand with his and kissing her fingers.

"_No you're amazing."_

"_Are we gonna stay here on the floor tonight or are we gonna break in that new bed?"_ he asked.

"_Well, I'm a little tired, we might have to save the breaking in for another night but we can sleep in it."_ She said grinning.

He stood up off the now sweat covered blanket and reached out a hand to her. He hauled her off the floor and she went into the closet and dug out some clothes to sleep in. She slipped into them and crawled across the huge bed to her "side" and started throwing the decorative pillows on the floor.

"_These things are so damn pointless."_ Luke said, throwing the ones on his side off.

"_But they're pretty."_ She retorted. _"Victory!" _she proclaimed, reaching the normal pillows and sliding under the covers.

"_Agh, shit. Forgot to take out my eyes."_ She said, throwing off the covers and going into the bathroom and taking out her contacts.

She came back into the bedroom, shutting off the bathroom light behind her. She climbed into bed and scooted over close to Luke. She tilted her face up to his and kissed him soundly.

"_I love you."_ He said, breaking away from the kiss.

"_I love you too"_ she said. She turned to put her back to him and he pulled her into him in a comfortable spooning position.

The next morning Lorelai stretched and slowly opened her eyes. It took her a second to figure out where the hell she was, but once she realized it she was suddenly more focused on the searing pain through all of her muscles.

"_Oh my God…"_ she groaned. Luke stirred beside her.

"_What?"_ he croaked.

"_Either moving or sex has killed all of my muscles."_

"_It's probably a combination of all of the above." _He said sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. _"We should get up. We've still got a lot to do."_

"_Ughhh no."_ she said, falling back into her pillow and pulling the covers over her head.

"_Come on. I'll make coffee."_ He said, the bed bouncing a little as he got up. She groaned but inwardly smiled. It was their first morning in their house…she wasn't going to miss a moment of it.


	18. Cocktail Weenies

**A/N: So, a month later here I am with a new chapter. For SOME reason this chapter took forever. I have no idea why…but I'm kinda moo (Friends reference, godl star if you got that) on the whole thing. I like it, but I think I might go back and tweak if in a little while. **

**Two things have been brought to my attention, and that is that some of you aren't happy Rory's a part of the story…it's Gilmore GirlS...plural…two. I really don't think you could write a GG story and do it justice if you didn't have both. Rory's wedding wont be a huge part, and after the past two weeks I'm majorly not a Logan fan…but my Logan is far sweeter than ASPs. And the second thing is that some of you don't like the italics in the dialogue. I'm in college. I know that quotation marks denote speaking…but I felt like making it in italics b/c I had so much thought in the first couple chapters instead of dialogue and it just stuck. Don't like it? Deal with it. Just your imagination and pretend it isn't there **

**But to everyone, I hope you enjoy. Hopefully you'll enjoy it and hopefully it wont take me another month to update. **

**Cocktail…Weenies?**

Luke entered the house a little bit after 4, having closed the diner super early in order to get home and get ready for the extravagant house warming party Lorelai had planned. The entire town was coming, for the most part, and he just had a feeling that the house was going to be a disaster when he got home.

He pushed open the front door and tossed his keys on the table and walked back towards the bedroom. He was shocked when he discovered on his way that Lorelai had actually cleaned. The house was pretty much spotless. He heard strains of Joni Mitchell coming from the bedroom, and upon further investigation he found them coming from the master bathroom. He pushed open the door and found Lorelai soaking in a bubble filled tub with the aforementioned Joni Mitchell playing in the background. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she shot him a smile.

"_Hey honey, you're home!_" She said beaming up at him. He crossed over to the tub and planted a kiss on her forehead.

_"I am at that. You cleaned."_ He said, gesturing back towards the rest of the house.

_"Yup!"_ she said, and then catching the look he gave her she ducked her head and smiled. _"Okay, I got a number from Lena at the Inn…I had somebody come and clean. BEFORE you start lecturing, she charged by the room and it wasn't that bad. Plus, the house is clean and now we don't have to do it."_ She said, pointing a finger at him.

He gave her a look and then shrugged it off.

_"What all needs to get done before the lunatics start showing up?"_ He asked, sitting on the side of the tub and rubbing her exposed knee.

_"It's all pretty much done. We just have to set out the food when it gets here with Sookie and light all the candles and the tiki torches around the pool."_ She said, rolling her eyes upward to think.

_"Huh, then I guess I can take a shower and then just lounge around until time to get dressed."_ He said standing up and unbuttoning and shrugging off his flannel.

_"Damn you men with your no primping time needed."_ She said, fishing around in the tub and pulling up the plug. She stood up and the bubbles around her clung to her like a bikini. Luke tossed her a towel, which smacked her in the face, and then pulled his own t-shirt off over his head.

_"You know, after a long day of work you might get tired and fall asleep in the shower…"_ she said wrapping a towel around herself and running her fingers over his back. _"Maybe I should get in and make sure you don't die."_

_"Lorelai. We've discussed this. It gets at too…awkward of an angle in there."_ He said as he stripped off his jeans. He turned around to face her and discovered she was pouting. He leaned down and kissed her, catching her pooched out lip with his teeth.

She pulled back and sighed. _"Fine. We'll just have to do it in the tub when everybody leaves."_

_"As long as it's after they leave as opposed to in the middle of the party."_ He said as he stepped under the hot spray of the shower.

_"Once. I made you do that ONCE."_

_"Yes, but it was in the coat closet of a DAR function your MOTHER invited us to."_

_"Your point is?"_ She called from the bedroom where she'd located her robe.

Lorelai busied herself straightening pictures and adjusting this and that around the house while Luke was in the shower. She checked the clock, it was approaching 5 and people would start getting there around 6:30 so she figured she should start getting ready. Luke was getting out of the shower when she came back in the bathroom. She whistled at him as he dried off and it earned her a dirty look and getting flicked with his towel. She shrieked and dodged and went about her business of starting to get ready.

Luke heard the shower turn on again from the bedroom and was suddenly confused.

_"Didn't you just take a bath?" _ He called into the now steam filled bathroom.

_"Yes…but that was just to shave my legs."_ She said in a tone that implied a "duh" at the end of it.

_"So what are you doing now?"_ He asked

_"Well actually I'm running my hand down my…"_

_"STOP! I walked RIGHT into that one. I'm going to just go…do something away from you."_ He said, to which she responded with a laugh.

_"Oh! Hon! Your suit is hanging in the closet…"_ she called. He groaned.

_"I have to wear a suit in my own house?"_ he said, teetering on the edge of whining.

_"Yes. It's a cocktail party. You can shed your jacket after a little while I promise."_

_"Ugh fine."_

Luke was watching a ballgame in the living room when Lorelai came into the living room wearing nothing but a tiny pair of shorts and a bra. Half her hair was on top of her head and the rest was straight around her shoulders.

_"Are you planning on getting ready any time soon? It's 5:30." _She said jesturing with the brush she had in her hand.

_"Yeah, just a minute."_ He said, turning his attention back to the game. When he discovered that there was no point in watching it anymore he stood up and stretched before walking into the bedroom. Lorelai had finished her hair and it hung straight around her shoulders. She was putting the finishing touches on her eye makeup when he came into the bathroom to shave and brush his teeth.

They got ready together, chatting idly about who all was coming and where to hide the liquor if Patty and Babette had too much, and even more importantly where to hide him. Lorelai went back into the bedroom to put on her dress and was struggling with the zipper when Luke came in, freshly shaven and minty-fresh. She felt his hands cover her own and deftly zip up the dress before planting a kiss on her shoulder.

_"Thanks."_ She said, turning around and barely brushing her lips against his. _"Lip Gloss."_ She explained. She noticed that he was blatantly staring at her.

_"You like?"_ she asked, turning in a slow circle. Her dress was a tiny black number. It was stopped just above her knees in the front and dipped just a touch lower in the back. The skirt was made of flowy chiffon and brushed softly against her tanned legs. The neckline was straight across like a typical strapless but had a rhinestone burst in a triangle in the middle that came up and turned into the two strings that tied around her neck.

Luke nodded. _"I love."_

She smiled and patted his chest. _"Good. Now you be a good boy and get dressed and be a good host at the party and I'll let you take it off later."_ She purred into his ear. She grabbed her shoes out of the closet and took them into the kitchen with her while she went around lighting candles. She'd let Luke do the tiki torches in the back. She could just see herself lighting the lawn on fire trying to light those. She had just finished lighting the last candles and putting her shoes on when the doorbell rang.

She skittered down the hall and opened the door for Sookie and Jackson, both laden down with huge trays of food. She pointed the gawking pair towards the kitchen and went out to get some trays herself to expedite the process.

She walked back into the kitchen carrying to trays and sat them on the counter. Sookie was marveling over the kitchen while Jackson oogled the living room. Luke had finished getting dressed and was in the living room with Jackson.

_"Lorelai. This place is BEAUTIFUL."_ Sookie said. _"I was wondering why you didn't let me come see it before, now I know. You were saving me from a heart attack!"_ she cried running her hands along the counter tops.

_"We'll do a big tour later, if you want. I know a lot of people are going to want to see the whole place."_ Lorelai said. The two of them went about setting up the trays on the table and counters and putting the champagne and wine on ice and setting out the liquor tray. Jackson and Luke went out back to light the tiki torches and make sure the deck was cleared off.

The boys came back in and people started arriving soon after. Lorelai opened the door when it rang at about 7:15 to find Rory and Logan on the other side.

_"Hey kid!"_ she said, hugging Rory tightly. _"I wasn't sure if you guys were gonna make it."_

_"How could we miss Stars Hollow's party of the month?"_ Logan asked brightly as they stepped inside. The two of them had been over the week before for dinner so they'd seen the place already and, judging from the bags at their feet, would be staying the night that night. Logan took the bags upstairs to Rory's "room" and Lorelai and Rory set about mingling.

Lorelai found Luke outside talking to Andrew and Jackson and she slid her hand along his shoulders as she walked past him down to the pool where Patty and Sookie stood talking.

_"Lorelai honey this place is amazing. It's just beautiful. And this pool!"_ Patty said gesturing to the finally finished pool.

_"Isn't it great? The guys just put the finishing touches on it two days ago. I can't wait 'til it gets warm enough for us to actually use it."_ She said.

_"Davey and Jaycee will love it when it's warm, that is of course if you let us use it."_ Sookie said winking.

_"You know me, I'm a sucker for a kid in water wings."_ Lorelai said. _"I'm gonna go get a drink, but I can show you guys around in a little bit if you want to see the rest of the house."_

Lorelai left the two of them and went back inside to make herself a drink. She poured herself some champagne and then leaned against the bar where Rory was sitting talking to Morey and sipping on a glass of wine.

_"You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to the fact that you can legally do that now."_ Lorelai said, Rory turning to face her.

_"Wait til you see my keg stand. I think I'll do you proud."_ Rory retorted, rolling her eyes. _"Great party though, I know Patty and Babette were wanting a tour but I told them you were the tour guide for tonight."_

_"Yeah, Sookie wants one too. I should go find all of them."_ Lorelai said, sipping her champagne.

_"Good to know you're getting right on that."_ Rory said as Lorelai reached behind her and plucked the bottle of champagne out of the ice and refilled her glass.

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her and walked away, leaving her with Logan and Gypsy who had both just walked up.

Lorelai found Luke outside talking to Jackson about the hot tub. She came up behind him and wrapped one arm around his waist and rested her cheek against his shoulder blade.

_"Not now Gypsy, not while Lorelai can see."_ Luke teased, causing her to swat him with the hand around him.

_"That was gross."_ She said, sliding around beside him and exchanging her arm around him for his arm around her.

_"We were just talking about the hot tub. Top of the line, I'm guessing." _Jackson said, running his hand over the cover.

_"Nah."_ Luke said. _"I can open it up if you want to see it."_

Lorelai smiled as Luke got all hee-man over the hot tub and went and found Babette, Patty and Sookie to start the tour.

They started in the master bedroom, which Luke had thought to clean up. The ladies ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the bedding and the bathroom, which elicted a few lewd comments from Babette which Lorelai deftly brushed off and ushered the girls back into the living room. She showed them the office and then took them upstairs. She held open the door to Rory's room and the ladies poked their heads in.

_"I love the window seat."_ Babette remarked, as they took in the whole room.

_"Yeah, it's a small thing, and she wont even be here that much but she said when she was little she always wanted one to sit in on rainy days and read. She wont be here that much, but I figure she can use it when she is if she wants."_ Lorelai said pulling the door shut.

_"There's two more bedrooms across the hall, joined by a bathroom. We've got one set up as a guest room right now, but the other we still haven't figured what to do with yet." _Lorelai said gesturing. She took the ladies upstairs and showed them the sewing room and second guest room before taking them back down stairs where Luke had been cornered by Morey and Logan by Jackson.

_"I'm going to go rescue Luke. If you want to look around, go ahead." _She called over her shoulder as she walked across the kitchen to Luke.

_"Hey baby" _she said, sliding her arm around his waist. _"Can I steal him for a few minutes Morey?" _She asked. She was granted permission and they walked out onto the deck together and stood against the railing.

_"Good party so far?" _he asked.

_"Very good party. I gave Sookie, Babette, and Patty a tour." _She said, entwining the hand that wasn't holding a glass of wine with his. He lifted their hands and pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand. She smiled. They stood on the deck talking to Gypsy and Tillie for a while. Lorelai felt herself getting tired, but convinced herself it was the tannins in the wine…

_or just the wine._ She added in her head with a smile.

After Gypsy and Tillie ventured off into the kitchen for another drink, Lorelai leaned her head on Luke's shoulder.

_"Would it be in bad taste to drag you around the side of the house and have my way with you?" _Lorelai asked, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand.

_"Lorelai."_ Luke said with an air of disgust.

_"I'll take that as a yes."_

_"You do that."_

Lorelai slipped out of his grasp and ventured over to the hot tub and sat down on the edge, running her fingers through the tepid water.

_"We should plug this bad boy in and see how he fares."_ She said, shaking the water off her fingers.

_"Lorelai it's not warm enough to traipse around in a bathing suit."_ Luke said from his position against the railing.

_"Who said anything about a bathing suit?" _she said, grinning wickedly. Luke crossed the porch and took her wine glass.

_"And you're done with the wine for the evening."_ He said. She pushed herself off the edge and stood up, nose to nose with him. She kissed him lightly, subtly running her tongue across his bottom lip, all the while sneaking her arm out and taking the glass out of his hand. Pulling back she grinned triumphantly.

_"Ha!"_

_"When you can't get out of bed til like four o'clock tomorrow afternoon don't blame me."_

_"What if I blame you…but not for letting me drink so much?"_

_"I think that'll be okay."_ He said leaning down and kissing her again.

_"Isn't it written in Mrs. Manners somewhere that the host and hostess aren't supposed to make out anywhere but the closet?" _A voice came from behind them.

_"See I told you."_ Lorelai said smacking him lightly on the arm as they turned to face Rory.

_"I'm gonna go get another drink."_ Luke said, slipping out of Lorelai's grasp and brushing past Rory.

_"He embarrasses easy. Easier than he used to."_ Rory noted with a lilt of satisfaction in her voice.

_"What can I say? I've worked my wily ways with that man."_ Lorelai said. She and Rory sat down in chairs that were at the patio table. _"So kid. Good party?"_

_"Yeah, good party. Though I think I'm going to have to mop up Logan to get him in bed." _Rory said, gesturing through the window where Logan was sitting at the bar with Jackson, Sookie and Lane chatting and gesticulating wildly.

_"I would say same with Luke but that man can hold his liquor. Unlike his female counterpart."_ she said as she felt her brain slosh a little. _"So how many times did you have to give the engagement story tonight?"_

_"Eleven. Twelve if you count that I had to tell it to Patty twice, because she's so drunk I think there's a good chance she'll fall asleep on your couch tonight."_

_"If Luke has his way, she'll go home."_

_"I have no doubt."_ Rory said laughing. She looked back inside and saw Sookie and Jackson had disappeared leaving Lane and Logan, who were shortly joined by Luke.

_"Is Luke talking to Logan or using him as a shield?" _Lorelai asked.

_"He's your boyfriend." _

_"Yeah, good point."_ She said. Suddenly she saw Babette walk by and Luke make his backside flush with the wall.

_"Aha."_ They both said at the same time, laughing.

_"I'm out of wine. Do you want more?" _Rory said, getting up and picking up Lorelai's glass.

_"Just a smidge. I really wont be able to get up tomorrow if I don't stop soon."_ Lorelai said. Rory disappeared inside and was quickly replaced by a overly giddy Sookie.

_"I need to talk to you."_ Sookie said grabbing Lorelai's hand and dragging her across the deck and down the stairs.

_"Slow down Sook, I'm gonna break a heel."_ Lorelai protested as she was drug across the yard and to the side of the house.

_"Unless you're planning on having your "experimental" years within the next five minutes and have your way with me over here, explain yourself."_ Lorelai said, adjusting her dress, which had become askew in their little venture and threatened to expose her left breast.

_"Okay, Jackson had to pee, and the only bathroom I could remember seeing was yours and the one upstairs. So I took him upstairs."_ Sookie said a smile stretching from ear to ear.

_"And…you took him upstairs? I don't see the reason for dragging me over here to tell me that."_ Lorelai said, getting frustrated with her evasive friend.

_"Well while Jackson was…doing his business…in the bathroom, when he's drunk he takes forever, so I wandered around the guest room and then noticed the room next door to it." _

_Shit._ Lorelai thought.

_"I wasn't gonna go in but the door to it was kinda cracked so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything if I went in."_

_I know the door was shut, I shut it myself, but whatever._

_"And well, I guess I know your little secret now don't I?"_ Sookie continued.

_"What secret Sookie?"_ Lorelai said, trying to act aloof.

_"Come on Lorelai. Pastel yellow room? You didn't show it to any of us on the little tour you did, no furniture in it when the rest of the house is fully furnished…"_

_"Connect those dots Ms. St. James-Bellville."_ Lorelai said, the impending sense of doom that had been present since Sookie had drug her across the yard had now settled on her shoulders with a tap dance and a flourish.

_"You're pregnant."_ Sookie half whispered half squealed.

_"Sookie…"_ Lorelai said, looking around.

_"Why didn't you tell me?"_ Sookie asked, grabbing Lorelai into a hug.

_"Well I…uh…"_

_"And it and Jaycee will be best friends! Do you know what it is? Of course you don't. Does Luke know? You're not even showing, unless you're one of those awful pregnant ladies that stay super tiny the whole time and then have a 10 pound baby and…"_ Sookie paused, noting the crestfallen look that had just taken over her best friend's face. _"Hey…why aren't you happy about this?"_

_"I…was."_ Lorelai said, casting her eyes downward, trying to avoid looking at Sookie for fear of losing it. She'd been doing so well in the past couple weeks and had hardly thought about it really. Now she was brought back face to face with the monster.

_"What do you mean you were? Oh no, did you tell Luke and he freaked?"_

_"What? No. He was really happy."_

_"I don't get it then…"_

_"Sookie. I'm…not pregnant…"_

_"Then…"_ Sookie started.

_"…anymore…"_ Lorelai finished

"_Oh…"_ Sookie said, averting her eyes to the wall next to Lorelai.

_"Yeah."_ Lorelai finished, worrying the hem of her skirt with her left hand and turning her face up to the sky and biting her lip.

_"Oh honey…"_ Sookie said, starting to hug Lorelai.

"_It's okay. It was a while ago. I'm okay. But…I need to go. I told Rory to bring me back a drink. She's probably wondering what's up so I'm just gonna…go."_ Lorelai said slipping out from around the side of the house and striding back up to the porch where Rory sat with her wine in her hand and Lorelai's on the table.

"_I thought you left me."_

_"It's my house, silly."_

Lorelai sat quietly at the table, twirling her wine glass between her fingers. After a few minutes Rory started to say something when Sookie walked past, gave a fleeting look at Lorelai and then went inside.

_That was weird._ Rory thought, taking a sip of her wine as she glanced back and forth from her mom and Sookie.

Luke was still standing with has ass flush against the wall. Babette had turned into a pinching machine and then into a groping and cupping fiend. He thought it was best if he just stood against the wall and tried to not look enticing.

_"Trying to blend in with the wall huh?"_ Jackson slurred as he sat down on the bar stool next to where Luke was standing.

_"Yeah well Babette and Patty and the pinching and…"_

Jackson held up his hand. _"Say no more friend. Continue on."_

_"Honey, it's time for us to go."_ Sookie said, briskly walking up to Jackson and taking his arm.

_"But I'm not ready to…okay…"_ Jackson said as he was hoisted off his barstool by his wife and pointed toward the door.

_"Thanks for having us Luke. I'll come by and get the trays tomorrow or something. Tell Lorelai to call me."_ Sookie said as she pushed Jackson toward the entry way and front door.

_"Okay…"_ Luke said, unsure if his alcohol clouded brain was making the whole situation seem awkward or if Sookie really wouldn't look at him.

Over the next half hour people slowly meandered their way home, there were drunkards all over the streets of Stars Hollow and they were bound to hear about it at the next town meeting, seeing as Taylor was one of the few townies not in attendance at the party. After about a solid hour Luke, Lorelai, Rory and Logan were the only ones left. Luke straightened up the kitchen a little before he went outside where Rory and Lorelai were still sitting at the table.

_"Where's Logan?" _he asked, scanning the backyard.

_"I poured him into bed a few minutes ago. I think you were making sure Patty wasn't falling down the driveway…and then fending off Babette. He's out like a light."_ Rory said with an exaggerated eye roll.

_"Ah."_ Luke said. He leaned against the table and glanced at Lorelai. Her makeup was smudged and it looked like she'd been crying. He shot her a quizzical look and she shook her head.

_"I think I'm going to go to bed." _Rory said, noticing the exchange. _"Night Luke."_ She said giving him a peck on the cheek. _"Night mom"_ she said, bending over and enveloping her mom in a hug and she whispered something in her ear before kissing her forehead and going inside.

Lorelai stood up and smoothed out her dress, stumbling a little as she lost her balance. Luke caught her by the arm and steadied her before he turned to face her.

_"What's wrong?"_ he asked. She just shook her head and looked up at him.

_"Nothing. Can we just go in? I need to take a shower and go to sleep."_ She said, slurring a little. He nodded and they went inside. She went ahead into the bathroom while Luke flipped off all the lights in the downstairs and loaded and started the dishwasher. He was done quickly and she was just getting in the shower when he came into the bathroom. He slipped out of his clothes and stepped in behind her.

_"Not tonight. Luke. I have a headache."_

_"Who said anything about that? I fully believe you've got a headache. This is just about getting clean. Nothing dirty. Not all showers are about that."_ He said, leaning against the back wall of the shower while she bathed. She was washing her hair when he stepped up behind her and ran his hands along her shoulders and pulled her hands out of her soapy hair. She was about to protest when she felt his hands take the place hers had been in, and proceed to wash her hair for her.

_Honestly. It's probably a good thing he just did that. I don't think my coordination skills work well under the influence. Wait…that didn't make any sense…fuck it._ She thought as his fingers deftly massaged her scalp, working away the tension she'd still managed to accumulate despite her massive consumption of wine.

She purred softly as he turned her around to rinse out her hair. When she was clean he stepped under the water and quickly bathed and rinsed off before turning off the shower.

_"You lied. That was so incredibly hot."_ She said, slurring the words a little so it came out "_You lihed, shthat soooooooooooo increbidly hot."_

He shook his head and handed her a towel. She disappeared into the bedroom, towel flapping open behind her. He emerged a few minutes later, back in the same boxers he'd been wearing since he'd gotten dressed because he was simply too tired and a little too drunk to care. The sight before him when he entered the bedroom should have surprised him, but after being with Lorelai for as long as he had he just shook his head.

He grabbed a t-shirt out of the closet and then sat her up and pulled it over her head. He could just see Rory walking in the room in the morning and finding her mother topless in bed. That would bring all kind of dirty images in Rory's head which he didn't want there, and he was pretty sure she didn't either.

He scooped her up and pulled the covers down out from under her and laid her back down on the bed. He kissed her softly and pulled the covers up over her and crawled into his side of the bed. She shifted over to where she was resting nestled against his side.

It was funny, even when she was drunk out of her mind she still couldn't sleep not wrapped up with him. Most drunks just passed out where they lay, but not Lorelai. She was a cuddly sleeper, and she never let Luke forget it…not that he minded all that much. He splayed his hand across her stomach and ran his other up and down her back, letting it lightly tangle in her hair as he too fell into one of those deep sleeps only accessible by befriending Captain, Dom, or Jose.


	19. Cordially Invited

AN: Hey guys, I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry this has taken so long. I've been busy. This is really fluffy and a bit longer than the past two chapters. Anyway, it's fluffy and cute (atleast I think so) so enjoy. More meat will come with the next chapter, promises! Plus, there's a good chance of a cliff hanger in the next chapter...just to keep you on the edge of your seats. 

**Cordially Invited**

Luke woke up well before Lorelai the next morning and laughed when he saw what position she'd wound up in the night before. One arm was slung over her face, half of her body was under the covers and one leg was slung off the bed. He slid out of bed and stretched his arms lazily above his head.

There was something special about Sundays for Luke, it had always been the day the family went to church when he was little and after the family had fallen out of the habit it had become family day. They'd spend the day at the lake or just hanging out around the house and eating together. Once Liz got old enough, she stopped spending as much time with the family, so Luke took advantage of every moment he got to spend with his parents, especially after their mom got sick.

He took a long shower, taking advantage of the quiet while Lorelai was still asleep, and after shaving and brushing his teeth he got dressed. He picked up Lorelai's discarded dress and hung it over the chair in the reading corner of their bedroom along with his suit to take to the cleaners later that day. He threw their used towels in the hamper and closed the bathroom door with a faint click behind him. He flicked his eyes towards where Lorelai was still sprawled. He chuckled quietly and pulled a pair of socks on before going into the living room.

The house was still a disaster from the night before. He scoured the downstairs for the rest of the champagne flutes as well as the remaining wine and highball glasses. He found four shot glasses he didn't even know existed on the end table in the living room and put those on the counter with the rest of the glasses. He'd gotten most of the plates loaded into the dishwasher before helping Lorelai get into bed the night before and patted himself on the back for having that good sense even though he'd been a little bit drunk. He unloaded the dishwasher and loaded the last couple plates and the rest of the glasses in there before emptying what food was still edible into Tupperware and sticking it all in the fridge and loading Sookie's dishes as well.

He wiped down the sticky counter tops and tables and fixed the furniture on the deck before deciding to start some breakfast for himself and Lorelai. He started some waffles and eggs and while those were either on the stove staying warm or in the warming drawer under the stove staying warm he poked his head in the bedroom and upon noting Lorelai's still dead to the world state, he quickly Swiffered the sticky kitchen floor before starting her coffee and quickly making bacon.

He started to set everything on the kitchen table, but as he put the eggs on the table he had a better idea. He loaded two plates full of food, one with ample syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream on the waffles and the other with only a little butter and syrup, and both having eggs and bacon. He carried them into the bedroom and sat them on the small coffee table before bringing in two cups of orange juice and then making one more trip for Lorelai's vat of coffee and a flower he'd plucked from a bouquet someone had brought last night. After getting everything situated he turned to look at Lorelai, who was still sound asleep, which was surprising considering the faintest whiff of coffee normally woke her up.

He crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He smiled when it bounced and she wrinkled her nose and grunted. He moved her arm away from her eyes and kissed her palm. She sighed and smiled, but was still asleep.

_"Lorelai"_ he whispered close to her ear. She flinched at the close proximity of his voice as she slowly stirred from her alcohol-induced slumber. He kissed her jaw softly before laying a kiss on each eye and the tip of her nose. Her eyes fluttered open and he saw her try to focus on his face at such a close range. He pulled back a little and smiled.

_"Morning drunky."_ He said playfully.

_"Ohhhh...don't yell."_ She said covering her eyes with her hands. He pulled them away and kissed her gently.

_"I made breakfast."_ He said, playing with her right hand that was still in his.

_"Food?"_ she asked, her eyes brightening a little with the thought.

_"Hangover food."_

_"Waffles? Bacon? Eggs? Coffee?"_ she asked, the last of the list more or less being a plead more than a request.

_"Yes, yes, and yes."_ He said.

_"Mmm you're sweet."_ She said moving to sit up to kiss him but immediately regretting that decision and falling back against the pillows. _"Just give me five minutes."_ She said, groaning and squishing her eyes up.

_"Okay. Five minutes, that's all you get. Hangovers are worse if you baby them."_ He said. He went into the bathroom and fished out some extra strength ibuprofen and put it next to her plate. He sat down in the chair in front of his plate and stared out the big windows into the back yard.

Ten minutes later she'd managed to get out of bed, brush her teeth, and sit down to eat. They ate slowly, enjoying each other's silent company. Lorelai finished her food shortly after Luke and declared herself ready for a shower.

_"I'm going to call the diner and check in and then we can just loaf all day with Rory and Logan if they want…sound good?"_

_"Sounds really good. I kinda forgot they were here."_ Lorelai said as she went into the bathroom to get ready.

Luke had left food on the stove for the future Mr. and Mrs. Huntzberger and when he went back into the kitchen with their dishes after she got in the shower he found them eating at the table.

_"Morning."_ He called as he crossed to the counter to put their dishes in the sink. Logan groaned.

_"Sounds like we have two this morning."_ He said, shaking his head.

_"Mom's hung over too I'm guessing. She only had a bottle of wine."_ Rory said rolling her eyes and wiping her mouth before putting her dishes in the sink also.

"_What are you guys doing today?" _ Luke asked.

_"Probably just hang out in town for a little while and head back to school around six-ish. Do you guys have big plans?"_ Rory replied.

_"Oh yeah, big Stars Hollow plans."_ Luke said, rolling his eyes. _"I'm pretty sure your Lorelai will be worthless most all day. She just wants to hang out around here, probably watch a movie and just be lazy. Not that that's that unusual for her though."_

Rory laughed and told Luke they were going to shower and then head over to Lane's for a little bit. He told him he'd see them later and headed back into the bedroom. Lorelai had finished in the shower and was now clad in pajama pants and a sweatshirt and was drying her hair.

_"Feel better?" _he asked, wrapping his arms around her, which he was rewarded for with a hot blast of air from her blow dryer as she jumped when he grabbed her. _"Thanks, I was feeling a little moist." _

She laughed and kissed his cheek as she put down her hair dryer.

_"It's amazing what a shower and breakfast will do for a hang over."_

_"Told you."_

_"Yeah, but more coffee would make it that much better."_

_"Kitchen."_ He said simply, steering her out of the bathroom. She patted at her still dryer-fluffy hair as the two of them went into the kitchen and she fixed herself more coffee.

They were snuggled up on the couch watching I Love the 80s: 1984 (Lorelai's choice of course) when Rory and Logan came back downstairs, both dressed to go out and Logan only still looking slightly green around the edges.

_"Morning"_ Lorelai called to them as they came into the living room.

_"Morning!" _Rory called cheerily. Lorelai and Logan both winced and Luke and Rory laughed at them.

_"It's not nice to laugh at the ill." _Lorelai said pouting and snuggling farther into Luke.

_"The ill? No. But you,"_ Rory said pointing at Lorelai, "_who drank at least a bottle of wine and three glasses of champagne, and you"_ she said pointing at Logan, "_who drank about a gallon of whiskey and decided it was a good idea to drink out of Patty's flask…"_

_"Oh I have no sympathy man."_ Lorelai interjected. "_I vaguely remember the end of the party…something having to do with Patty getting fresh with Andrew and you deciding to make everybody go home when she grabbed your butt?"_

Luke looked at Lorelai like she had two heads.

_"Okay, maybe not. I guess that didn't happen."_ She said ducking her head and burying her face in his shoulder.

_"Alright, we're going to Lane's. We'll be back later to grab our stuff and say bye before we go back to school."_ Rory said as she crossed the room and stooped down to hug Lorelai. Lorelai kissed her cheek and the two of them left.

Lorelai pulled a pillow from the end of the couch and plunked it down in Luke's lap before laying her head on it and pulling a blanket off the back of the couch to cover her legs with.

_"Just get comfy why don't you?"_ Luke said with a grunt as he shifted underneath her to get more comfortable.

Lorelai reached behind her and flailed a little for his right hand and finally grabbed it, pulling it around her waist and putting her own hand on top of his, threading her fingers through his.

_"Well, I guess that's better."_ He said as he idly ran his hand up and down her side for a few minutes.

The rest of the morning and into the early afternoon drew lazily past. Rory and Logan vacated the house around one and the only times that Luke and Lorelai ventured off the couch was to get refreshments or go to the bathroom.

It was nice, to Lorelai as well as Luke, to have somebody to just be lazy with at any time, but especially after a night of excessive drinking. Just to lie around on a couch most of the day was a nice change of pace for both of them and it seemed to make their normal hectic schedules melt away and pool at their feet while they watched Trading Spaces and Forrest Gump.

It was around the classic shrimp conversation when Lorelai shifted restlessly on the couch.

"_Bored?"_ Luke asked, looking down at her and into her eyes that seemed a little clouded at the moment.

_"No, just…thinking"_

_"Dangerous."_

_"Ha ha. Very funny." _Lorelai said rolling her eyes and pouting a little. Luke kissed her forehead.

_"Sorry. Thinking about what?"_

_"Last night."_

_"Any particular part or just the night in general?"_ Luke asked, a little baffled by her vagueness.

_"The part where Sookie found out."_ Lorelai said, a clearness breaking free through the haze of the memory of last night. She put a hand to her forehead, _"I probably made her feel like such shit. Dammit." _

Luke ran his fingers through her hair. _"I'm sure it wasn't that bad. But it does explain the massive consumption of wine on your part after she left, and why I found you teary on the deck with Rory."_

_"Yeah. Sorry. I would have told you but I was a little shaken up…"_ she said letting out a shaky breath. _"Still am I guess."_

He played with her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple while she toyed with his fingers.

"_She would have found out eventually, and it would have been worse later. It's better it's all out in the open. It'll be easier to keep going."_ She said defiantly.

Luke opened his mouth to reply but was cut off.

"_Did we get the mail yesterday?"_ she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"_I didn't. Did you?" _

"_Don't think so. I'm gonna go get it." _She said, extracting herself from under the blanket they'd pulled over them and shoving her feet back in her slippers before heading for the door.

Luke sighed and got up off the couch. He padded barefoot into the kitchen and made himself a glass of juice and thumbed through a magazine on the counter while he waited for Lorelai to get back.

He heard the door open and close and her soft, shuffling footsteps coming towards the kitchen on the hardwood.

"_Look,"_ she said holding out a crème colored envelope.

"_Mr. Lucas Danes and Ms. Lorelai Gilmore,"_ he read aloud before handing it back to her. _"And? What is it?" _

"_I dunno. But it looks fancy."_ Lorelai said grabbing a letter opener off the small side table in the kitchen and sliding it into the envelope. She pulled the contents out and put a hand to her mouth when she read the card.

"_What? What's wrong?"_ he asked, immediately concerned and at her side with one hand on her arm.

"_Who could refrain that had a heart to love, and in that heart courage to make love known,"_ She read aloud before reopening the invitation to read the inside to him. She noted his puzzled expression.

"_Shakespeare, Macbeth actually…"_

"_Oh." _Luke replied, feeling a little bit like an idiot.

"_You can thank St. Andrew's Academy in Hartford for that one."_ She said before continuing to read the invitation. _"You are cordially invited by Mitchum and Shira Huntzberger to attend a celebration of the love shared by Logan Michael Huntzberger and Lorelai Leigh Gilmore at an outdoor Black and White Ball. May 17, 2006 at the Huntzberger Estate."_

They booth stood there, clad only in pajamas, and gaped at the invitation.

"_I wonder why Rory didn't mention it this weekend?"_ Luke asked.

"_She probably did, and I was just too drunk to comprehend what she said."_ Lorelai retorted. She looked down and reread the invite before closing it and putting it on the counter.

"_There's no RSVP."_ Luke noted.

"_From what I understand, when you're invited to a Huntzberger gathering, you don't turn it down. Especially if you're the parents of the bride the engagement party is being thrown for."_ Lorelai said. She caught what she'd just said a second after it left her mouth and watched Luke to gauge his reaction.

"_Yeah, I guess so."_ He said, putting the invitation back in the envelope. _"I guess this means I have to go rent a tux."_

"_Yeah, it wont be so bad. Black and White Balls are typically at least good for having high quality booze. It might even be fun. Shit, I need a dress. I don't own a white dress…well an appropriate white dress."_ She corrected.

Luke made a face at the mention of shopping and Lorelai swatted him and looked down at the envelope again.

"_My baby's getting married."_ She said a little sadly.

"_Yeah, she is."_ He said, pulling her to him and hugging her tightly.

They stood there in the kitchen, Luke swaying softly back and forth for while before Lorelai pulled back and squinting, studied Luke's face for a minute.

"_Is there something on me?"_ he asked, brushing his cheek with the back of his hand. Her face softened and she ran her hand over his other cheek.

"_Nah. I was just trying to imagine what your face is going to look like when I tell you I want to go swimming….Ha! I was right!"_ She proclaimed when his face twisted and he rolled his eyes.

"_It's too cold."_

"_Luke. It's like 70 something out there today, ridiculously warm, and in three days it'll be May first. I just wanna float around on a raft for a little while. You don't have to get in with me."_ She said, slipping out of his arms and heading for the bedroom.

Lorelai was changing in the bathroom when she heard him come in the bedroom.

"_Gonna get in?"_ She asked, as she pulled her bikini bottoms.

"_Nah, I'm gonna change and mow the backyard while you're catching pneumonia in the pool."_

"_Oooh sweaty Luke. Sounds good to me!"_ She called as she fastened her top, grabbed a towel and pranced back into the bedroom.

"_You like?"_ she asked, turning around in a bouncy circle, excited about getting in the pool.

"_Of course I do."_ Luke said, pulling his t-shirt over his head and unashamedly staring at her body.

"_I was hoping for a bit more of a reaction than you just oogling my goods."_ She said crossing her arms.

Luke came around the bed and pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers while she pressed herself against him. His hands wandered south and rest atop both of her cheeks as she pulled back from the kiss. She giggled and he slid one hand around to trace the line of her bikini.

"_This actually covers more than I thought it would."_ He said.

"_Well my string bikini is for when we swim together, besides, gotta have some coverage, it's cold out there!" _she said as she took his wrist and, grabbing the towel off the bed, pulled him towards outside.

It took a good twenty minutes for Lorelai to realize that her desire to get in the pool wouldn't be happening, because she didn't want to get all the way in and they hadn't bought any pool toys yet. After a few minutes of pouting, she went back inside, fixed some ice tea for her and a big glass of water for Luke and lounged comfortably on a lounge chair and watched Luke work.

"_You could help me you know."_ Luke said, taking a break to get some water.

"_Yes, yes I could. But you're doing such a good job and you're almost done. I'll help you with the girly gardening when we get to that."_ She said, eyeing the flowers that were just starting to bloom completely.

Luke rolled his eyes and set off to finish the last part of the yard. It took him about a half hour to finish mowing and edge around the pool, and after he was done he sat on the end of the chair Lorelai was still sprawled out on, now reading a Cosmo, and drank the rest of his water.

Lorelai looked up and wrinkled her nose, _"You're all sweaty."_

"_Well, physical exertion will do that do you. Something I guess you wouldn't know too much about." _He quipped back. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him for a minute before playfully sticking her tongue out and going back to her magazine. Luke stripped off the sweat soaked shirt he'd been wearing and tossed it on the concrete.

"_You should have done that a long time ago."_ She said, running her foot up his back. She grimaced when she pulled her foot back and it was soaking wet. _"Seriously. Go shower or something, it's gross. Hot, but gross."_

Luke sighed and got up, he moved to walk towards the house and Lorelai went back to reading the end of the article she'd been reading. Suddenly the magazine was plucked out of her hands and she was in the air.

"_Luke!"_ she screeched, clinging on around his waist from the back as he had picked her up like a sack of potatoes. She flailed her feet for a second and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. She managed to twist around so she could see where they were headed, figuring he'd scooped her up to go take a shower with him.

She was shocked when she hit the water in the pool, and let out an ear piercing shriek. She came up sputtering and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"_YOU! YOU! YOU!"_ she stammered, swimming to the edge of the pool and pulling herself out. She shivered and glared at him. _"That was the opposite of funny."_

"_Come on. It was a little funny."_ He said, taking two steps towards her.

"_Nope, not funny at all."_ She said turning on her heel and stalking towards the deck. She grabbed her towel and dried off and wrapped up in the fluffy towel.

He watched her go inside, trying to read the way she walked away to see if she really was angry or if the jaunt was in her step that usually meant she was kidding. There was no jaunt, and he dismissed it as he was at the wrong angle to see it (seeing as she was on the deck and he was standing below on the cement). He put the lawn mower away and dipped the random grass bits out of the pool before going inside.

He didn't see Lorelai in the bedroom, and she hadn't been in the kitchen or living room so he assumed she was either upstairs or in the office. He stripped down in the bathroom and stepped into the shower, washing all the grass and sweat off.

Lorelai was sitting cross legged in the chair in the office, now wearing work out pants and a long sleeved shirt, with her still wet hair piled on top of her head in a knot type thing, furiously pounding away at the keyboard. The electronic reservations for the inn were taking the brunt of her frustrations. She didn't even look up when Luke poked his head in to check on her and tell her he was going to the store. She brushed him off with a wave of her hand and a "see you later" and went back to transferring the reservations to both a legal pad to her right and to a document on the computer.

It wasn't even that she was that mad at him, really. She was just miffed. He'd given her a speech about how it was too cold to get in the pool and then threw her in. She just didn't get his thinking sometimes. Granted, that was what she loved about him, but still. She sighed and rest her head on the hand propped up on the arm of the cushy desk chair. She spun around in an idle circle, bored of looking at the computer screen. She had stuck some pictures on the desk and Luke had hung her diploma from business school on the wall, framed and matted like it was from a real university. She smiled and sighed, feeling bad for being such a bitch.

_After all, he did ONLY throw me in the pool._

She stretched her legs out in front of her and picked up the phone extension in the office and dialed Sookie's number. She had some shopping to do and didn't want to go alone.

Sookie said she would meet her in twenty minutes to ride together. She also told Lorelai she and Jackson had gotten an invitation, and Lorelai suspected Rory had something to do with the guest list. Not that she minded, of course. It would be nice to have people to socialize with other than the snooty Hartford elite.

Realizing she had at most 15 minutes to get ready she ran into the bathroom, and was pulling on her shoes when Sookie knocked on the door. She yelled for her to come in and that she would be out in a second.

She half ran, half hopped out of the bedroom as she was pulling on her other boot and found Sookie in the kitchen.

_"Hey, let me leave Luke a note and we can go." _Lorelai said, fishing in a kitchen drawer for a pen, finding one she grabbed a piece of paper off the notepad by the phone.

"_Luke-Went shopping with Sookie, I'll be back for dinner. I'm sorry. I love you. Love-Me"_

"_You're sorry? For what? Oooh lover's spat?"_ Sookie asked as Lorelai stuck it under a magnet on the fridge.

"_Yeah, it was dumb. Let's shop."_ Lorelai said, lightly shoving Sookie towards the door.

Luke got back from the store around six, and unloaded all the groceries out of the car. He began to put things away in the fridge and saw her note. Reading it, he plucked it off the counter and exhaled a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure what he'd done wrong exactly, she had wanted to get in the pool, but he still felt bad nonetheless. He had decided before he left he was going to make her dinner to make up for being a jerk.

He wasn't sure what time she was going to be home, so he had to work quickly.

Fortunately for him, he figured Lorelai was shopping for her dress for the party, so he would have a little while. That he did, he was lighting the tapers on the table when he heard her car pull up. He checked the table and then quickly filled a glass of wine and sat it by the dozen red roses he'd bought on his way home and dimmed the lights. He stepped into the bedroom out of sight and waited for her to come in. He heard the door open and her toss her keys into the bowl by the door.

_"Luke? You here?"_ her voice echoed through the entire house. He saw her lay a dress bag over a living room chair on her way to investigate why the house was so dark by way of the kitchen.

He stepped out of the bedroom and was walking towards her as she put a hand to her mouth. She turned around when he was about halfway to her. He stopped and tried to read her expression. He couldn't tell if she was still mad at him or what, he blamed the dark.

_"Luke…"_ she said, her voice barely above a whisper. He crossed the rest of the way to her and stood right in front of her, taking her hands.

_"I'm sorry."_ He said, casting his eyes downward.

_"Hey, don't be. All you did was throw me in the pool. It's not like I wasn't wearing a bathing suit. I was being a bitch."_ She retorted, squeezing his hands.

_"Yeah but I shouldn't have done it. I mean I gave you that whole speech."_ He said.

"_Hey. It's okay. We both screwed up. But you didn't have to do this."_ She said gesturing at the dinner and the flowers.

_"Maybe not. But I still wanted to."_ He said. Leading her over to the table and pulling out a chair for her.

_"Wait."_ She said, turning around and cupping his face with her hands and kissing him gently. _"That's better."_ She said, moving to sit down.

_"You're kidding."_ He said, repeating the same cupping action and kissed her again, this time not letting her pull away after a few seconds. Right as he sensed she was about to deepen the kiss he pulled back and smiled.

_"Food's getting cold. We better eat."_ He said, laughing as she pouted.


	20. Poolside Conversations

AN: I know, I'm evil and should be destroyed. I'm sorry for taking so long, but this chapter really just took FOREVER to crank out. It's been in the works for over a month. Probably closer to two actually. Anyway. I wont waste your time with a long author's note, go on! Get reading! The next chapter is fully written in my head, I just have to get it out on paper. It's got a couple flashbacks in it, just a heads up.

**Poolside Conversations**

Lorelai smoothed the front of her dress as she stood in her bare feet in the kitchen. She had managed to get ready faster than Luke.

_That's a first._

She shifted her feet back and forth as she sipped on a mixed drink she'd made out of what was left in the sparse liquor cabinet and the fridge.

Initially, Malibu and Crystal Light Lemonade didn't sound like a promising combination, but upon first taste she discovered she had a new favorite drink.

_"LUKE! Come ON! We're going to be late. The car is here already."_

_"I'm almost ready."_ He called back.

The Huntzberger's had sent a car for them, a nice gesture considering Lorelai was very much considering getting drunker than all get out if the party blew as much as the uppity Hartford parties she'd been to in the past did. Sookie and Jackson were going to ride with them, because it would be a waste to just use the limo alone when it sat 8 people. Granted, this ruled out dirty deeds in the limo, but they'd gotten that out of their system the last time they had ridden in a limo.

Luke came into the kitchen a few minutes later, dressed in his tux and was attempting to tie his tie.

_"Come here, let me."_ She said, sitting down her now half empty drink and raising her arms so she could fix his tie. The bell rang while she was tying his tie. _"That's Sookie and Jackson, let's go." _She picked up her wrap and purse off the back of a kitchen chair and the two of them walked outside.

Sookie and Jackson had abandoned the front door to examine the limo.

_"Ready to go?" _Lorelai called as Luke locked the door.

"_Oooh! You look so pretty! I told you that dress would look amazing."_ Sookie said, squealing over Lorelai.

_"Yeah, after it got altered it turned out pretty good. Luke sure seems to like it."_ Lorelai said, shooting him a coy look over her shoulder.

_"Aw jeez."_ Luke muttered, stepping around the women to open the door to the limo and motioned for them to get in. _"We're going to be late as is."_

_"Not late, just making an entrance."_ Lorelai said as she got in behind Sookie and Jackson.

But Luke was very appreciative of the dress, and he'd certainly taken his time drinking her in. Which is why it took him so long to get ready. Or at least that was what he was going to tell her, and it wasn't a complete lie. He didn't want to let on that he had taken extra "mirror time", as Lorelai called it, because he wanted to look nice to meet all the fancy Hartford people and not feel like a bum.

But the dress was fucking amazing. Even sitting next to her in the limo he was still enthralled. It was long, silky fabric (which he would later find out was in fact silk, Chinese Silk at that…not that he had any friggin idea what that was) and was so inky black that it looked like somebody had dumped a bottle of ink out and it was in a constant state of motion down her body. He was most appreciative of three aspects of the dress. One, being the fact that it was strapless. Her shoulders were two of her best assets, and he was drawn like a magnet to them, either pressing a soft kiss to one or running his hands over them. The second was the slit that ran up her left leg and stopped maybe four inches blow her hip, exposing her long, tanned legs capped off in strappy stiletto heels.

The third, and probably his favorite, was the back. He'd certainly taken his time enjoying the view from behind as they'd walked out of the house. It dipped all the way down to right above her ass. He was kind of concerned about her being able to keep said body part in the dress. She'd assured him double stick body tape was her best friend and the dress would stay up. He mentally traced the back of her dress at the top where a single, maybe inch wide piece of fabric kept the entire dress up and held her breasts in check.

"_Luke? Hellloooo?" _Lorelai said waving her hand in front of his face. He'd been staring at their joined hands on the seat for the past few minutes and she'd only asked him twice if he'd remembered to grab the invitation off the counter.

_"Huh? Sorry."_ Luke said.

_"Did you get the invitation?"_ Lorelai asked, smiling at him, distracting him even further. This night wasn't going to go well if he kept getting distracted by her every move.

_"Yeah. Why?" _ he asked, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to her.

_"Apparently we have to show them at the gate."_

_"You're the mother of the bride. Why do you have to show somebody a piece of paper?" _ Luke scoffed.

_"The guy in the guard house doesn't know that though."_ She said passing the card to Jackson to pass through the divider he'd just lowered. She dropped her voice and leaned over to whisper in his ear. _"Distracted much?"_ he felt her smile against his ear and ducked his head slightly; clearly embarrassed he'd been caught.

They talked and drank a little champagne on the way to the party, but when Sookie hiccupped once they topped off the bottle and declared that they didn't need to be drunk when they got there.

Pulling up to the house was a bit breathtaking. Lorelai had only met the Huntzbergers once and it was at her parents' house for a party. She had some idea of how rich the family was but nothing prepared her for the Huntzberger estate.

They could see some of the sprawling grounds from the windows as the limo slowed to a stop at the gate to show the invitations and be checked off on the guest list. The party seemed to be happening at the back of the house, a walkway lined with candles could be seen from the window and the faint lilt of strings music filtered in through the driver's open window.

Luke was nervous. He didn't do well at these fancy dinners with fancy people. It would be a miracle if he made it through the night without spilling anything on himself. He had been staring out the window as the car pulled up the driveway and pulled his attention away from his thoughts when Lorelai rubbed his thigh.

"Ready to make our appearance Mr. Danes?" She asked, her blue eyes shining. He smiled back at her and nodded as he slid out of the car behind Sookie.

He turned and offered his hand to Lorelai as she smiled at him from the door. She took it and stepped out of the limo.

_She looks like a movie star. _

She smoothed the front of her dress and then looped her arm through his.

_"You two look like you just stepped out of the Oscar edition of People Magazine."_ Sookie said, one hand dramatically thrown to her chest.

Both of them blushed a little and Lorelai glanced up at Luke and kissed him lightly on the cheek before they started the long walk down to where the party had already begun.

The estate was amazing on it's own, but it had been decked out in honor of the party. Everywhere you looked there were white candles, white roses, lilies and orchids (and the occasional stargazer lily thrown in for color Lorelai supposed). The tables that were under the tent were barely visible, but she could see the table cloths alternated from black to white and each had a large arrangement on it.

_"If the engagement party is like this, what is the wedding going to be like?"_ Luke murmured to Lorelai.

_"You ain't seen nothin' yet. They've got a year to plan the thing at least. It's going to be ridiculous."_ Lorelai said, turning away to look around her.

Luke caught the glimpse of longing in her eyes, he knew exactly how she felt…or at least he hoped he did.

They reached the bottom of the stairs down the sloping back lawn to where the tents were set up.

_"My God. They have a receiving line."_ Sookie said in a stage whisper back to Lorelai, who was about three people behind them at the time. The people between them shot Sookie what could only be construed as a "snooty rich person" look and the line moved ahead as Rory and Logan as well as the Huntzbergers greeted the guests.

By the time they reached Logan and Rory, Luke was already sick of the formalities. The Huntzbergers had kept them for a solid 5 minutes as Shira gushed over Lorelai's dress (a sentiment that made Lorelai tilt her head a little and smile fakely) and Mitchum asked Luke about his golf game (which he lied about of course, no need in the big guy knowing he didn't actually play golf).

Lorelai felt her eyes water up a little when they reached Rory and Logan, she looked so much older than twenty-one. She was wearing a long halter dress, white of course. Her hair was done up in an elegant up-do and she just looked everything that a bride-to-be should look like. She lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw her mom.

She hugged her, carefully to avoid messing up their dresses but as tightly as she could manage.

_"There are so many people here."_ Rory whispered

_"Well you're the hostess with the mostest."_ Lorelai quipped as she kissed her cheek lightly. _"You look beautiful baby."_

Rory blushed.

_"You have people to greet, we're going to go make the rounds and find our seats."_ Lorelai said, taking her hands and squeezing them lightly.

Luke stepped up and hugged Rory, and shook Logan's hand before he followed Lorelai to their table.

Luke saw Lorelai's entire body tense up slightly as they discovered just who was seated at the table they were supposed to sit at.

Sitting on one side of the table in a cloud of Chanel No. 5 was Emily, who locked eyes with Lorelai as they approached the table. And on her left was Richard, who looked more bored than a human being could possibly be and was staring off into space in the general direction of the parking lot probably wishing he could get the hell out of there.

Emily looked up and locked eyes with Lorelai.

_"Lorelai."_

_"Mom."_

Luke could punch the tension in the air it was so thick, Lorelai's back and shoulder muscles were slowly clenching and relaxing as she took each terse breath.

Lorelai put her bag and shawl on her chair and turned to Luke.

_"Lets go to the bar."_ She said

He nodded and putting a hand on the small of her back, walked with her towards the huge bar set up under one of the many tents.

_"Double Vodka Martini with a twist please."_ She said bracing herself against the bar with both hands and closing her eyes. She let herself be soothed both by the promise of alcohol shortly arriving and by Luke's hand softly trailing up and down her back.

_"Same for me."_ Luke said to the bartender who was looking at him expectantly. He turned away and proceeded to go make their drinks.

_"You don't like martinis."_ Lorelai said, turning back to look at him.

_"True, but beer is nitwit juice."_ He said winking at her. She smiled faintly and then pushed herself off the bar softly and wrapped her arms around his waist.

_"Can we go home yet?"_ she asked into the lapel of his tux.

_"Hey, don't worry about them. We don't have to sit at the table much, and when we do it'll just be to eat and we can eat quickly and get up again. Plus, I'll be a buffer. I promise."_ He said, still running his hand up and down her back.

_"Two vodka martinis with a twist."_ The bartender interrupted, putting their drinks on the bar. They took them and saw Sookie and Jackson standing near the edge of the tents talking so they made their way over.

_"Hey, there you two are."_ Sookie said, smiling brightly.

_"We hit the bar. It'll be necessary tonight."_ Lorelai said, sipping her martini and noting the lipstick left on it. She was amused at the sparkles left on the glass, and flashed an award winning smile at Luke.

_"Why do you say that?"_ Sookie asked. Lorelai motioned towards the table they were sitting at with her head and Sookie's eyes went big.

"_Well then, by all means. Drink up!"_ Sookie said under her breath as Lorelai took a big gulp of her martini.

A three course meal, dessert, three slow songs, two fast songs, and three more martinis later, Lorelai was actually starting to enjoy herself. She had pulled Luke up to dance when the music had changed back to a slow song and he hadn't objected. Now she was more or less using him as a prop to hold herself up.

_"Are you seriously this drunk already?"_ He asked as he stumbled a little under her weight.

_"No,"_ she said backing up to look at him. _"Just tipsy enough to want to lean on you."_

_"Oh…okay?"_ Luke replied, thoroughly confused as she leaned her head back on his shoulder while her fingers traveled down his right arm running a slow path up and down, mirroring the pattern he'd been making on her back for the past ten minutes.

Rory and Logan floated past a few minutes later, in the middle of "The Way You Look Tonight". Lorelai reached out with one hand and tapped Rory's shoulder.

_"Hey kid."_

_"Hey mom"_ Rory said with a smile, resting her chin on Logan's shoulder.

_"Having fun?"_

_"You bet."_

Lorelai smiled as Logan lead Rory across the floor. That was her little girl dancing with that boy. Her little braided pig-tailed girl clutching Colonel Clucker, dancing with that boy.

She felt her eyes water and turned her face into Luke's neck.

_"Hey, what's wrong?"_ he asked, feeling her hot tears seep through his shirt.

She shook her head, and he resumed rubbing her back like he had been before, only now with the intent to soothe her more than anything else.

_"Sorry."_ She said pulling back, and running a finger under each eye. _"Got all emotional there for a second. It was a real Father of the Bride moment and Rory was six again."_

She laid her head back down on his shoulder and sniffed. The music changed from the nice slow Sinatra to a faster song. Luke took her hand and lead her off the floor.

_"No, Luke I don't want to go back to the table. My parents are there."_ She said pulling him towards the other tent where people were mingling. She wasn't exactly in the mingling mood, so they hung around in the corner, talking to each other an occasionally sharing fake smiles and false enthusiastic small talk with any of the Hartford elite that dropped by just to 'say hello'.

Lorelai felt herself getting droopy, but after consulting Luke's watch and only discovering it to be 11:45, she decided it was time for coffee. Lorelai grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffee bar set up in the tent they were in and turned around to see Rory coming towards her.

_"Hey, any good?"_ Roy asked, gesturing to the cup.

_"Not bad. Not exactly the best, but it'll do."_ She replied, taking a sip. Rory got her own cup and turned to face her mom.

_"So, good party?"_

_"Well it's not Stars Hollow style…but for a fancy shindig it's not too bad."_

_"It's loud in here. Let's go talk somewhere. I need to get away from all these people."_ Rory said after a few minutes of silence.

Lorelai scanned the room and saw Luke standing with Sookie and Jackson near the corner. They caught eyes and she motioned towards Rory and outside of the tent. He nodded and went back to talking to Sookie.

The two Gilmore ladies walked out of the tent and across the grass, which thankfully wasn't wet from dew yet.

_"This place is incredible."_ Lorelai said as they crossed the yard down to where the pool was. The pool was huge, near Olympic sized by Lorelai's best judgment. It was full of floating candles and white flowers.

_"Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous how far they went with this party. I mean, we're probably the only people to come over here."_ Rory said.

_"Yeah, but it's quiet. So you wanted to talk?" _Lorelai asked, turning to face her.

_"Mmhmm. Let's sit." _Rory said motioning.

_"On the ground? Not in this dress."_ Lorelai scoffed. She laughed as Rory took off her shoes and hiked her dress up around her waist before plopping down at the side of the pool and letting her feet dangle down into the water.

_"Emily would shoot you if she could see you…"_ Lorelai said deadpan before grinning wickedly and sitting down next to her.

They stared out over the water for a few minutes, watching the candle light play across it.

_"I had a real Father of the Bride moment when you and Logan danced past us earlier. I told Luke, but the reference was lost on him."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, you were six. Pigtails and bows." _

_"Wow."_

_"Yeah."_

They were silent again.

_"This is retarded. We've always been good at the talking thing before." _Rory said, stretching her legs out through the water and flicking a little bit with her toes and sending out a splash of water.

_"I know. This party…is a lot to for mommy's heart to take."_ Lorelai said glancing up at Rory, her eyes welling a little. _"Other than that iceberg on your finger, it's the first time it's really been clear that you're getting married…you know?"_

_"Yeah."_ Rory said. _"It's a lot to take in…I'm still trying to take it all in. I'm still not sure the Huntzbergers' even like me. I mean, I know they like me or we wouldn't be getting married…it's just weird to think I'm a grown up now."_

_"You've been a grown up since you were five and told me that you knew where babies came from and you could make your own peanut butter and jelly."_

_"You know what I mean."_

_"Yeah, I do."_ Lorelai said, and then they grew quiet again. _"Promise me one thing?"_

_"I promise that if we do the cake thing I'll smush it all over his face." _Rory said, rolling his eyes.

_"That's not what I was going to say, but thanks."_ She was quiet and looked at Rory with the most sincere look on her face. "_I'm far to young to be a grandmother. And so help me God if you make me one before I'm good and ready you'll never hear the end of it, and I'll hype them up on sugar when you leave them with me and send them home to you all crazy."_

_"I'd expect nothing less."_ Rory said. _"And don't worry. Furthest thing from my mind right now."_

_"Good."_ Lorelai replied, _"That's good. I mean…don't get me wrong…grandkids would be good…but when I'm old enough to be a grandma."_

_"Got it."_

They smiled at each other and sat by the pool for another half hour, talking and laughing.

_"I wonder if anybody misses us. We've been out here for an hour and nobody's come looking."_ Lorelai said.

_"Well, most of the elder crowd has left already. It's mostly Yalies and Life and Death Brigaders left around. Sookie, Jackson, and Luke are probably the only people left out there over the age of 26._" Rory said cracking a smile.

_"This party will go on until the wee hours of the morning, unfortunately your mother will not."_ Lorelai said, pulling her feet up under her and standing up. She pulled Rory to her feet and after picking up their shoes they went back to find their respective males.

After wrangling up the rest of the occupants of their limo, they told Rory and Logan goodbye before trekking back up the hill and climbing back into the limo to go home.

Sookie was pretty much sloshed, and Jackson was teetering on the edge.

_"Davey and Jaycee are where?" _Lorelai asked, making sure she wasn't sending two drunken adults home to take care of their infant and toddler.

_"Jackson's mom,"_ Sookie slurred.

_"Just checking."_ Lorelai said, wrapping her arms around Luke's and laying her head on his shoulder. Sookie soon passed out on Jackson's shoulder and Jackson's head slumped forward in what Luke and Lorelai could only assume was a drunken slumber.

_"So where did you and Rory sneak off to?"_ Luke asked, running fingers softly up and down her legs (which she had thrown over his lap).

_"The pool. We dangled our feet and talked. I told her I'm too young for grandkids."_ She said, leaning back against the door and thoroughly enjoying the patterns Luke's fingers were making on the inside of her knee.

_"Good, that's good."_ He said, intently focused on the material of her dress under his fingers.

_"Hey,"_ she said, running her hand along his cheek, _"what's up babe?"_

_"Nothing. Sorry. Tired, and a little drunk."_ He said, snapping out of his thoughts and lying a little. He didn't want her to know where his thoughts really had been.

_"Mhmm."_ She said leaning her head on his shoulder. Luke pressed his lips to the top of her head and she smiled. Turning her face into his neck she let soft kisses dance across his jaw line.

_"Lorelai."_ He half whispered, half growled.

_"Hmm?"_ she asked, focusing her attention on that sensitive spot right under his ear.

_"Sookie and Jackson are less than three feet away."_ He said, wanting to move his head but completely unwilling to.

_"And passed out"_ she added, letting one hand drift across his chest

_"Still."_ He said, swatting at her wandering hands. _"Save it for when we get home."_

_"Oooh I like the sound of that."_ She said, letting her hand drop back to her own lap. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and breathed in that distinctly Luke smell.

Jackson muttered some gibberish from the other side of the car and Lorelai giggled, her laughs reverberating against the hollow of Luke's throat.

"_How much did they drink?" _she asked

_"I have no idea. I was too busy watching some guy with an accent do thirteen shots of tequila, and then walk away from the bar ten minutes later like he'd just had ten shots of water."_ Luke said, a bit incredulously.

_"Ah, that would be one of the guys from the Life and Death Brigade. Finn, I think." _Lorelai said closing her eyes.

_"You know if you fall asleep, you forego any other fun activities tonight."_ He whispered in her ear.

_"I'm awake! I'm awake!" _she said, sitting up and staring at him wide eyed, causing Luke to laugh.

The car ride was fairly short, and from that point on, fairly uneventful. The car pulled into their driveway and after extracting themselves from the car, Lorelai stuck her head back in to peer at the still sloshed Sookie and Jackson.

_"I dunno if they can even walk home."_ Lorelai said tilting her head to peer at Sookie.

_"Just shake them. Their house is like 20 feet away."_ Luke called from where he was unlocking the door.

After a few minutes of coaxing, Lorelai had managed to talk them out of the car and was watching them do the drunk person shuffle down the sidewalk towards their house.

"_I think they're good now."_ Luke said, coming up behind her and putting his arm around her waist. She smiled as they stumbled, laughing up the steps and leaned her head on Luke's shoulder.

_"It's getting cold. Let's go inside."_ He said, gently directing her towards the front door. She gathered the bottom of her dress up in one hand and put the other arm around Luke's waist.

She kicked her shoes off when she came in the door, a habit Luke had tried to break her of long before, and sat her purse on the table by the stairs. Luke shook his head at her shoes and smiled when he looked up and saw her reach her hand out for him to take. He took it, lacing their fingers together and letting her pull him towards her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

_"Hi."_ She breathed into his neck, littering it with tiny, butterfly-like kisses until she got to his jaw. Glancing up and seeing his eyes were closed she pressed a harder kiss to his jaw-line before trailing a faint kiss across his lips.

His hands immediately tangled in her hair, tugging gently to tip her head back further allowing him to devour her lips even more.

She shuddered as he backed her up against the banister, willingly letting him take control. His lips left hers and she whimpered slightly, but that whimper turned into a moan of approval as they came to rest on the side of her neck.

His hands had wandered down to her hips and his thumbs were rubbing soft circles on her hips, driving her completely up the wall. Her hands had been dancing across his chest and shoulder blades, but she slid them around to his butt, quickly pulling his hips flush with hers. She gasped with the contact and he groaned into her shoulder.

In one swift moment he had her dress around her hips and had slid one leg between hers, pressing insistently upwards.

She almost melted instantly. She pushed at his chest and they backed away from the entryway of the house, and they stumbled towards the kitchen. They banged into a couple barstools, a wall, and the coffee table on the way to their bedroom, lips never leaving contact with each other.

Once they entered the bedroom Lorelai pawed his jacket off and started clawing at his tie.

_"Hey, slow down."_ He said, putting his hands over hers, kissing her palms and lowering her hands to her sides. She blushed and looked down. He tipped her head back up and kissed her softly before turning her around to un-zip her dress. He pulled the hook out of the eye and slid the zipper down slowly. The dress slipped down her body and pooled at her feet in a puddle that looked like a huge bottle of ink had been dumped on the carpet.

As the dress fell to the floor her ran his hands down her arms and let them rest on her hips and took a step towards her, placing a gentle kiss against her neck.

Her eyes shut tight as his hands ran around to her stomach as he pressed himself up against her, his arousal very obvious against her hip.

She turned around in his arms, making it very apparent how clothed he was and how much she didn't want him to be. She pulled his tie off from where she'd left it hanging earlier, and made quick work of his dress shirt. He toed off his shoes and socks as she pulled at his belt. As his pants fell around his ankles she ran her hands back up his chest and pulled him in for a hungry kiss. They swayed slightly on the spot and Lorelai pushed him towards the bed.

Luke stumbled and caught himself on the bed post, making Lorelai lose it giggling as he attempted to recover.

He cocked an eyebrow at her and she put a hand over her mouth. He slipped his feet out of his pants and slid back onto the bed, motioning for her to come towards him. She quickly closed the space between them and ran her hands through his hair as he laid his cheek against her stomach.

He kissed slowly across the flat plane of her stomach before taking the elastic of her thong in his teeth and snapping it lightly against her skin. He pulled her towards him and flipped them so she was under him on the bed. She slid upwards and laid on the pillows as he looped his fingers through the sides of her thong and pulled it down her long legs, tossing it across the room to mix with their other clothes.

He kissed her languidly, letting their tongues dance together slowly. They both agreed long ago that sometimes kisses could be the most erotic thing to do with your significant other, and this one was no exception.

Hands were everywhere, massaging sometimes and all out groping others. Her hands slid down his back and inside his boxers, allowing her to grab a handful of his ass before pushing is boxers down and toeing them off herself.

There was something about the rush of being completely skin to skin, and if the desire to move past simple touching wasn't throbbing through her every fiber at that very moment, she could just lay all cuddled up and naked with him forever. She squirmed a little underneath him and his pulled away, resting nose to nose.

She hooked her legs around his waist, and suddenly he knew she was all business. It didn't take much more than that for him.

There were times when they had headboard-rattling, bone-jarring, mind-blowing, neighborhood-waking sex. But tonight was not one of those nights, their rhythm was slow and sensual. It was one of those times that if the partners didn't know each other exactly and extremely intimately they would never reach the soul-jarring orgasms that both Luke and Lorelai were well on their way towards.

They rarely came together, this time being no exception. The rare instances when they did were special, but neither of them focused on it too much. Lorelai almost always came first, shuddering and moaning (sometimes screaming) his name and Luke almost always followed after, her release throwing him over the edge. Neither one of them minded this pattern, to her it thrilled her knowing that she sent him over the edge and he was so focused on pleasing her, and he loved being able to push her that far…it was a real macho moment for him.

There were some nights they were cuddly after sex, but tonight they lay spent on their sides of the beds, fingertips barely touching, panting towards the ceiling.

After they both regained their composure and shared one chaste kiss, they took a quick, innocent shower and Lorelai went to go get a glass of water while Luke got dressed for bed.

Lorelai went into the kitchen wearing an oversized t-shirt, her hair hanging wet around her shoulders. She was filling her glass with water when she saw the answering machine blinking. She hit the button and leaned against the wall next to the fridge while her voice echoed through the quiet house.

Luke was alone in the bedroom getting dressed for bed. He opened his sock drawer and there it sat, calling out to him like a foghorn. He ran his fingers across the black box and pulled it out of the drawer and tucked it in the pocket of his pajama pants. He had considered asking her much earlier than now, but things kept getting in the way. Things like miscarriages and Rory's wedding plans. But now, in a moment they were both truly happy and content, it seemed like the perfect time. He pulled a pair of socks on and went to brush his teeth in the bathroom, hearing Lorelai's voice from the answering machine filter into bedroom.

He brushed his teeth and combed his hair before walking back into the bedroom, finding Lorelai standing pale-faced in the doorway.

He immediately was in front of her, holding both of her hands, fearing the worst.

_"Baby? What's wrong?" _he asked, squeezing her hands and trying to get her to look at him.

_"I have to go to Paris."_ She said in an almost whisper.


	21. Drool

I know this chapter has been a long time coming, and personally I feel like it's not the best it could ben but I felt a revolt along the lines of peasants and pitchforks coming if I didn't get something up. The next chapter will deal with them being in Paris, and we'll find out more about the condition of who's there :) I'm not trying to make everyone crazy I swear.

* * *

Drool

_"I have to go to Paris"_

Luke stared, mouth hanging open a little, at Lorelai.

_"What?"_ he asked, shaking his head a little as if to clear it.

_"I have to go to Paris."_ She said pushing past him and grabbing a suitcase out of the closet. She began to haphazardly throw clothes into the suitcase with no rhyme or reason to what she was throwing in.

_"Wait. Lorelai."_ He said, crossing the room to the bed where the suitcase lay amongst the rumpled sheets. He took her arm and she turned to him, her face almost completely devoid of color.

_"Why do you have to go to Paris?"_ he asked, searching her eyes for some kind of an answer.

_"Um. My cousin…Elaine…her husband…"_ she started, distracted by the thousands of thoughts running through her head. "_He left a message and said my aunt, Hopie…Hope…mom's sister, and Elaine are in the hospital. They were in some kind of accident…they don't think Hopie's going to make it much longer and she asked for me and mom…"_ she said, a couple tears rolling down her cheeks. _"I don't even know why I'm crying." _ She said batting at the tears as Luke pulled her into him, holding her tight. _"It's not like we are even that close, Hopie and me I mean…Elaine and I spent summers together when we were kids, but Hopie always sent her here…I never went there…I think I've seen her all of four times, the last time was when Rory and I went to Europe after she graduated…"_ She trailed off, babbling to keep herself in control. _"Thomas said Elaine's going to be fine, she's just banged up, but they're worried about Hopie."_ She pulled herself away from him as she tried to close her suitcase and let out a groan of frustration when it wouldn't close.

_"God FUCKING dammit!"_ she cried, letting herself sit down on the floor by the bed.

_"Hey, hey," _Luke was immediately in front of her again and crouching down to her level. He enveloped her in his arms again and he felt her hot tears run down his bare shoulder.

"_I need to get a plane ticket…"_ she said, hiccupping into his shoulder.

"_You need to get some sleep,"_ he said hauling her off the floor and leading her towards the bed.

_"No, I need to pack," _she said pulling away from him and trying to get back to the suitcase. He caught her by the arm and pointed her at the bed.

_"Sleep. We'll get up and get you us plane tickets first thing in the morning,"_ he said, sitting her on the bed.

_"Us?"_ she asked

"_Yeah, us,"_ he replied, putting the suitcase on the floor and making her lay back before pulling a sheet over her.

She slid under the covers and he kissed her forehead before slipping in himself. She slid up next to him and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

They fell asleep shortly after, Luke only having to calm Lorelai down one more time. He assured her that there was nothing to be gained by crying, and that he would get up and get the tickets first thing if she wanted to sleep a little.

The next morning came quickly for the two of them. They had finally fallen asleep around 4:45, and Luke awoke to her getting out of bed at 7:15. His eyes felt like lead, and the pounding in his head was the resounding evidence of just how drunk they'd been the night before.

He followed her into the office and rest his hands on her shoulders from behind her. She glanced up at him as she checked for airline tickets.

_"I told you I'd do that,"_ he said, massaging her shoulders.

_"I know, I just…I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. I want to get over there as soon as I can. Mom and Dad managed to jump on a non-stop flight at 6,"_ she said quickly browsing through the tickets.

"_What's the earliest we can get on?"_ He asked, continuing her massage.

"_Two this afternoon, going out of JFK, connecting in Atlanta and then going to Paris," _she said, already clicking on the confirm button.

_"Son of a bitch," _she said slamming her fist on the arm of the desk chair.

"_What?" _he asked.

"_There aren't two seats left together on this flight,"_ she said looking back at him.

_"Book them, it's more important that we get you there than us sitting together,"_ he said crouching down next to the chair she was in.

_"But you hate flying. That makes you be on 10ish hour flight by yourself," _she said.

_"Not all alone, you'll only be a couple…thirteen…rows ahead of me. If I try really hard I could see you,"_ he said.

She looked at him, amazed.

_"Click the button or you're going to lose our seats. I'll go get in the shower and start packing,"_ he said standing up. She caught his hand as he went to leave the room and pulled him down to kiss him lightly.

_"Thank you,"_ she whispered. He smiled and kissed her forehead and went to shower.

She felt like the walking dead. She figured she could sleep on the flight, but even then she knew she was going to be screwed up for at least a couple days by the time they got to Paris.

Paris.

She'd always wanted to go to Paris with someone she loved. Now she was, only the circumstances sure did suck.

She picked up the phone and woke up the still drunk Sookie and explained what was going on and that she'd be gone from the Inn for at least a week, possibly longer. Sookie assured her it'd be fine, and encouraged her to leave a message at the Inn too since she was apt to forget by the next morning because she, "shtill felt a schmidge drunk".

Luke was exiting the shower as she entered the bathroom, and for the first time in a while they passed each other without any inappropriate groping even though he was completely naked and she was pulling off what clothes she had on as she made a move for the shower that was still on.

It wasn't until she was under the hot stream of the shower that she realized exactly how hung-over she really was. She felt herself gag and willed herself not to throw up in the shower, or throw up period.

She needed a taco.

She got out of the shower and toweled off before going to the bedroom to pull on suitable traveling clothes. They'd have to leave in an hour or two to get to the city on time to make their flight to Atlanta.

She slipped on light grey lightweight sweatpants and a ribbed wife beater tank. She shook her wet hair loose around her shoulders and padded into the kitchen, desperate for something to settle her stomach.

Luke was ready and waiting with a microwave burrito.

_"Have I mentioned that I love you?" _ she asked, taking the burrito from him and eating it quickly.

"_You're gonna definitely puke if you don't slow down. We'll make the flight. I need to pack still, but we've got two hours before we have to go," _he said laying a hand over hers to slow her down.

He left her eating and went to pack. It was only when he was staring into the suitcase that he realized he had no idea what to pack on a trip to Paris, especially not knowing how long they were going to be there.

Lorelai's haphazardly packed suitcase was still on the floor, and he hefted it onto the bed so he could see what she'd thrown in, even if it was done in a panicked frenzy.

"_Put in your suit, just in case," _she said from the door. She pulled everything out of her suitcase and started to fold it before repacking. She pulled a strapless black dress out of the closet and put it in a garment bag. She took his suit from him and included it on the inside with her dress.

_"I hate it, but it might be necessary,"_ she said.

They packed moderately fast, and with minimal conversation. He could sense she just wasn't in the talking mood. Once their suitcases were packed (two for each plus two carry-on each) Luke decided it was a decent hour to call Lane to tell her he wasn't going to be there for at least the next week.

He hung up the phone with Lane as Lorelai was finishing a call with Rory. She'd gotten a message from Emily early that morning and hadn't been coherent enough to answer the phone. She had called after she'd woken up and realized what was going on, and then called again to let Lorelai know her travel plans.

"_So, guess who got the other two available seats on our flight out of Atlanta?"_ Lorelai asked, hitting the end button on her cell.

_"Rory and Logan?" _he asked, she nodded. _"Sounds like we'll be all spread out all over the plane." _

_"If you want we can wait and go on the next…"_ she started.

"_No. You need to get there as soon as you can, it's fine," _he said, cutting her off. She gave him a half-hearted smile and watched him leave the room to go put the suitcases in the car.

She decided she should change into something more presentable than sweats in case she had to go straight from the airport to the hospital. By the time Luke had the car loaded, she had changed into comfortable jeans, a pink polo shirt, with a black zip up jacket and black and white Converse sneakers. She felt a little ridiculous with the sneakers, but she knew from experience that both the Hartsfield-International and Charles De Gaulle airports were not heel-friendly locales, and their layover wasn't that long in Atlanta to start with.

She had thrown some product in her hair and left it curly around her shoulders, and snapped a hair tie around her wrist, just incase.

"_I know, I know, I look like a wannabe teenager,"_ she said as Luke looked her up and down as she came into the foyer.

_"I was going to say you look like a teenager, and hope you took it as a compliment,"_ he said shrugging. She pulled her purse off the table and then hugged him.

"_You put my laptop in the car, right?"_ she asked.

"_It's in with the rest of our stuff," _he assured her.

They left shortly thereafter, Lorelai constantly checking her phone to make sure she hadn't missed anyone. The only phone call she got on her way there was from Rory, saying they were at the airport already and were about to take off for Atlanta. Logan had pulled some strings and gotten them tickets on an earlier flight to Atlanta and would see them at the gate.

Lorelai fidgeted the entire trip to the city. Luke had given up trying to calm her down, and just tried to keep her mind off of it. He'd even relented and stopped in at a Starbucks. She was now sucking down a venti caramel macchiato faster than one person probably should. But he was the nice guy, and didn't say anything. He just held her hand across the console and let her drink it down.

With Lorelai, caffeine sometimes seemed to have the opposite effect. By the time they'd gotten to the airport she seemed calmer, or as calm as a person could be that was flying halfway across the world for a family emergency.

Luke crossed his fingers as they entered the main building of the airport, praying that since it was a Sunday afternoon they wouldn't have to contend with throngs of people to check their bags or make it through security.

His prayers were answered. The checking of the bags was easy, and after getting their tickets at the little kiosk they headed for security. Luke carried the two duffels while Lorelai had her purse, a duffle and her computer bag. She knew she'd have to stuff the purse in the duffle to get it through security but put it off until the last minute.

Security didn't take very long, they waited a half hour maybe but neither were keeping very close track of the time. They pushed through the crowd of tourists searching for their flight back to Tennessee and made it to their gate with ten minutes to spare.

"Mom!" Rory called from near the wall.

Lorelai turned around and saw Rory, dressed in jeans, flip flops, and a black strapless shirt, with her hair curling wildly around her shoulders.

For a second, Luke forgot what they were there for and marveled at how much the two of them looked alike. If Rory had any of Christopher's characteristics, Luke sure as hell didn't see them. The two girls hugged and pulled apart as the flight attendant, one that was far too perky for Lorelai's still a little hung over self, came over the intercom and announced that Zone 1 would start loading.

They all gathered up their things and stood as close to the line to get on as possible, waiting for their zone to be called. They all seemed to have the idea that the faster they got on the plane would make them get to France faster.

Luke was starting to get a headache from the French babble going on around him in every direction. Just as he was about to reach out and pop the tween in front of him in the back of the head, the flight attendant announced his and Rory's boarding area. They joined the queue and let the woman scan their tickets. Lorelai and Logan boarded soon after.

It wasn't that they were all that far apart from each other in actuality, but an hour into the flight Luke wasn't happy about sitting next to a teeny-bopper princess when he could have been sitting next to Lorelai.

Logan and Rory had managed to convince people to swap with them so they could sit together and were now six rows up from Luke on his left, talking quietly about something.

Lorelai kept looking back at Luke from her seat at the rear of first class. She unbuckled and walked back to where he was sitting and tapped the teenage girl next to him on the shoulder.

"Hi," she said. The girl was clearly annoyed at being distracted from her music.

"Hi. I'm sitting up in first class, and you are sitting next to my boyfriend here. Would you mind trading?" Lorelai asked.

The girl grudgingly got up and moved her things up to first class while Lorelai explained to a flight attendant what was happening so she didn't think some random kid wandered into first class.

She came back and plopped down in the seat next to Luke.

"First order of business, this," she said pulling at the arm rest between them "has got to go."

She slid it up and leaned into him.

"Hi," she said softly.

"How you doin'?" he asked, rubbing her arm gently.

"Okay. I'll be better once we're there and once we know how Hopie is," she said into his shirt.

She pulled a blanket out from the overhead compartment and draped it over their laps.

She was almost asleep when she felt something wet hit her in the cheek.

"Gross, Luke I was trying to sleep," she said, wiping her cheek. She glanced up and saw that he was sleeping.

She punched him lightly on the arm, "Wake up. You drooled on me."

He stirred and opened one eye to look at her, "I was asleep."

"I know. And you drooled on me," she said sitting up.

"I did not," he said with an indignant tone. She went to cross her arms and hit something foreign and plastic in her seat. She grasped it in her hand and pulled it out in front, and upon opening her hand revealed a pink pacifier.

"I am so sorry," a voice said from the seat across the aisle from them. "She threw it and I couldn't figure out where it went."

A blonde lady was bouncing a little girl on her lap who couldn't have been more than a year old.

"Oh, it's okay," Lorelai replied handing the pacifier back to the woman.

"Told you I didn't drool on you," Luke said with a smirk.

Ignoring him, Lorelai asked the lady, "How old is she? She's very cute."

"Thank you! She'll be a year old next month."

Lorelai smiled, she had been right. The little girl had a head full of ringlets and big green eyes. She had some teeth, but not many, and they showed when she smiled at Lorelai.

"I can't imagine traveling with a one year old. Mine's 22 and on the other side of the plane, that's the only way I can handle it," Lorelai joked.

"We're going to a wedding, my sister vacated the states as soon as she could. She's living in Sicily now. Talk about a long trip." The lady said. "I'm Margot, and this is Faye," she said bouncing the baby more.

"Faye, I love that," Lorelai said, letting the name roll around in her head a little. "Like Faye Dunaway,"

"I'm glad you said Faye Dunaway and not Tammy Faye. I get the latter more than I'd like," Margot said laughing.

Luke marveled at the two ladies and how easily Lorelai seemed to make friends. She could pick up a conversation on a plane and have a new friend by the time she got off.

"Would she let me hold her? It's been a while since I've played with a baby," Lorelai asked. Margot smiled and handed the baby across the aisle.

Faye giggled and drooled as Lorelai sat her on her lap and played peek-a-boo. Lorelai played with her for a good half hour while Margot got a few minutes to herself, and then gave her back when the baby started getting droopy.

"I should let you keep her the rest of the trip, maybe I'd get some sleep!" Margot joked.

"She looks like she's about out now," Lorelai said. "Sleep when they sleep. That's the best advice I could give any mom."

Margot smiled and pulled a blanket over the now drowsing Faye and rocked her as best as she could from her tiny airplane seat.

Lorelai leaned back against Luke and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple.

"I still want one," Lorelai said quietly looking at Faye and Margot.

"I know, we'll get one, even if I have to steal it," Luke joked.

"Please tell me you were kidding," Lorelai said.

He smiled and kissed her temple again and she leaned against him.

"Get some sleep. We've still got a long way to go and it's going to be non stop when we get there," he said, running his hand down her back and resting it on her hip.

She made some non-committal sleepy noise and snuggled up next to him. They soon fell asleep, and managed to stay that way for most of the rest of the flight, save for when they had their dinner served and when Rory came over to say hi.

The four of them made sure to try and get as much sleep as possible, when they got to Paris they were going to have to hit the ground running.


End file.
